Picking Up The Shattered Pieces
by derevkobristow-spawn
Summary: My take on season four. All character adventure. jack-irina, syd-vaughn, nadia-weiss. Summary inside
1. one

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own any of the characters, young or old, except for the original ones, so please don't sue. I'm just a student who's going to graduate from high school soon and could not afford to be sued by a company based in the United States. Thank you and have a nice day.

**Summary**: My take on season four. Jack tells the truth to Sydney, Irina is somewhere out there and more secrets will be revealed. All characters will appear but most of the ship thingies will belong to the Jack and Irina ship. A slight sprinkle of Sydney and Vaughn are also on the way.

**A/N-** A sequel to "Our Life is Complicated" is in the works. I'm sorry for the grammatical errors in this chapter. My beta reader will be on board on the third chapter… I hope you like this, reviews please.

**---**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Mistakes. People make them. Nobody is perfect. Everybody's bound to make mistakes. Its something expected of people, whether we like it or not. They make us or break us. Sometimes, our mistakes haunt our children and their children's children. Mistakes are part of our lives. But some people are afraid to commit mistakes.

People like Jack Bristow.

"_You weren't supposed to see this."_

His daughter looked at him like he is the vilest creature on earth. His daughter, the only person he had truly cared about for the past fifteen years, now hates him for keeping a secret he has tried to forget.

"You killed her."

The tears slid down on Sydney's cheeks. Anger, hurt and confusion spread around her like forest fire as she tried to understand everything. And her father's impassive face doesn't help at all.

"You killed her." Sydney repeated, her voice, cracking. "You lied to me. You told me she was alive and was in touch with you. But all this time, she's six feet under the ground. Why? Why did you have to keep this secret from me?"

"I was trying to protect you."

He avoided Sydney's gaze. She is crying and it breaks his heart to see her in such state.

"Bullshit!" She snapped. "Don't justify what you did to my mother using that line." She said angrily. Her lips are quivering, but anger reigned inside her. Only god knows how much she wants lunge at him and to tear his eyes out.

"Irina did much worse, Sydney. Read more of those documents so that you'll know what I'm talking about." Jack retorted.

_It hurt me to kill her. But I did it for you. If I hadn't done what's being asked of me to do, you'd probably dead right now, or still living Julia Thorne's life._

Oh how he wants to say that. To shout it at her. To just show his daughter that he is not the unfeeling, emotionless bastard she thought him to be.

Sydney took the UV mini-light and read the other papers. Her hands shook as she realized what her father is talking about. Her father's secrets.

_Sydney Ann Bristow- 17 April, 1975_

_Nadia Mariska Bristow- 02 June 1982 (Missing)_

_Nathan Mikhail Bristow- 31 May 1987 (Deceased- 05 January 1990)_

_Sofya Alexa Bristow-31 May 1987 (Deceased- 05 January 1990)_

_Names following the second child of Agent Jack Bristow are proof of his betrayal to the country. These children were fruits of his affair with KGB agent Irina Derevko from the year 1985 to the year 1990. Not only did he use his position as the Senior CIA contact in Switzerland to meet with the late Derevko, he was also the man behind Agent William Vaughn's death._

The following papers revealed birth certificates, transcripts and her father's release records.

"Nadia's your daughter. Not Sloane." She remarked. "And you killed Vaughn's father."

"William Vaughn died because he took Nadia and refused to tell me where she was. Nadia is my daughter and those two children, the twins… they're my children too."

"I know. They're just… dead. What can we do about it?" Sydney answered and stared at him.

Jack went closer to his daughter, his face solemn. "Your mother took away something very valuable from me. I loved her. But I couldn't let her take you away from me. Not again."

"You're just tricking me." She said accusingly. "You want me to hate mom, and not you. It's not going to work. I'll not fall for it again." Sydney said angrily and stood up. Part of her wants to leave this place, to leave him. But another part of her doesn't want to. She wants the truth and she wants it now.

Jack sighed and felt totally defeated. He walked across the room and went to the vaults. He took a key from his pocket and opened vault number 1064.

As his fingers came in contact with the cold metal box, memories of the past began to flood back to him. The memories that taunt him in his dreams and that had become so unreal to him. Memories of the time he had with Irina and their children. Memories he'd rather bury to the ground than remember.

He opened the vault and took out several folders and envelopes inside. He looked at the documents and felt agonizing pain in his chest. It's his fault that everything turned out the way it is. Everything turned out to be a piece of unbeatable crap.

Jack placed the documents in front of Sydney. "The memories I have to live with. The memories I tried to take out from you and Nadia so that you wouldn't have to feel the pain of losing someone. I tried, Sydney. But… I failed."

Sydney looked at him. She can feel immeasurable pain from his voice. Her father sounds so broken.

She looked at the folders and envelopes in front of her and opened one. A faded newspaper article immediately greeted her.

**DEATH TOLL IN HOTEL BLAST REACHES 2500; MORE BODIES ARE YET TO BE FOUND. BELGIAN GOVERNMENT TRYING ITS BEST TO FIND SURVIVORS.**

Sydney looked at the date. January 10, 1990. Fourteen years ago.

She scanned the report. There were no indications of who the people responsible for the blast were. She looked at the other documents in the folder. They were all articles on the same tragedy.

Jack watched his eldest daughter looked at the documents. She has just started the first folder, the articles he meticulously archived to keep him straight with the facts with the incident.

Her hands traveled to one of the envelopes. When she took out the contents, she realized that they were photographs.

Photographs of her as a child.

Photographs of a little Nadia.

Photographs of two little babies.

Photographs of her, together with Nadia, the babies, her dad and her mom.

Her family.

The secrets. Probably the one of the reasons for his current actions.

"They died in the blast?" Sydney asked in a quiet voice.

Jack tried to impassively look at her but found out that he can't. His eyes brimmed with tears as the memory of seeing the hotel burn in front of his eyes and knowing that Irina and his two-year old twins are inside, resurfaced in his mind.

"Yes. Your… your mother refused to talk about them."

Sydney hands are trembling. "Why did you keep this from me? From us?"

Her father looked at her. A ball of guilt, anger and sorrow is lodged in his throat. "This is not the place for the explanation."

He felt her eyes stare at him. He could feel her pity, her shame, her distrust. And he could understand why she feels that way. He deserves to die for being such a coward.

"There's a safe house a few miles from here."

Sydney gathered the documents, stood up and left him.

-x-x-x-

"Your daughter is dead."

Olivia Reed looked at the speaker and raised a brow. Her daughter is dead? How can that be when she just talked to her a few days ago?

"I saw her die. Michael Vaughn killed her."

The finality of the tone and the truth that it carried drifted to her ears. She looked away from the speaker. She doesn't want her tears to be seen. She rarely shed tears even for the people she loved.

"Where is Agent Vaughn now?" Olivia asked after the tears went away.

"In the hospital. Recuperating from the wounds I gave him and the wounds he acquired while saving the young Bristow."

A contemplative look passed by her face. "He's going to pay, that's what I'm sure about." she said. "But we still have things to do. I'll deal with him later." Olivia said and looked at Katya Derevko.

"You still have things to do."

-x-x-x-

When they reached the safe house, the first thing Sydney did was to take off her wig and call the Rotunda. It was then she found out that Nadia escaped the CIA agents who are guarding her and disappeared.

"They lost Nadia." Sydney said as she sat down in front of her father. She looked at his face and saw a very weary man. He looks so worn out of the world. Lines of worry and anxiety crease his face and he seems to want to give up. He must be feeling that way because she has a lot of questions. And death isn't certainly an option when it comes to answering her questions.

"I killed your mother to protect you, Sydney."

His daughter looked at him. "She's dead. There's nothing I can do about it. I just want to know why I can't remember those two children."

"I erased your memory when I initiated Project Christmas when you were fifteen. You didn't know… about their deaths. And when I found Nadia, I erased every memory she had of us." Jack said and looked at her. "I really thought Irina died in that blast."

She stoically looked at him. She wants him to start.

Jack let out a deep breath and leaned back on his chair. He closed his eyes and started to recollect.

_05 January 1990 _

_Brussels, Belgium_

_He looked at his watch. He is in the park near the where hotel Irina and their children are staying. Excitement filled him as he waited for his two-year old twins whom he hasn't seen in three days. He is also excited because he has now the location of Nadia, his second child with Irina. She was taken by a colleague, a man he knew as William Vaughn._

'_Bastard.' He thought as anger bubbled in his throat. The agent kidnapped her and presented her to the KGB. This led to Irina being tracked down in Switzerland and putting their family in danger. He quickly asked her father, Nikolai Derevko and his friend, Ben Devlin for assistance._

_They decided to split the family in half. The twins will be in Irina's care and he will take care of Sydney and Nadia, once she is located. He also assigned a bodyguard for Irina and their twins, a trusted associate, Benjamin Petersen._

_A beautiful smile spread across his face as he remembered his children. His source of pride and joy. Three beautiful daughters and a son. Innocent, carefree. And they will be great people._

_He chuckled. The last line of thought was a bit funny. 'Great people. Sydney will be the first woman President of the United States, Nadia will be awarded with a Nobel Peace Prize, Nathan will be the next head of the United Nations and Sofya will be the next Katharine Hepburn… in terms of acting prowess.'_

_He looked at his watch again. Irina and the kids are late._

_Just as then, thundering explosions echoed throughout the park. He froze when he heard the sounds and he slowly turned around to where the hotel is located._

_It is crumbling down to the ground._

_A whirlwind of emotions suddenly grasped him as he stared at the burning building. He is frozen to the spot, as if something is rooting him to the ground._

_His thoughts screamed at him. 'MOVE! YOUR WIFE AND CHILDREN ARE INSIDE!'_

_But he couldn't. Amidst the screaming, the sirens and the dust that is billowing around him, he stayed embedded to his spot. His thoughts are the only thing running around._

'_MOVE GODDAMMIT! **MOVE**!"_

_This time, his legs moved. His body finally realized what is going on._

_Jack ran as fear started to take over his body. 'No, no, no, no, no…' The two-letter word continuously resonated in his head. _

_NO, they're not dead because Irina couldn't be dead. NO; because Nathan and Sofya aren't dead. NO; because the family will be complete again, NO; because it's not their time yet. NO; I love them so please don't take them away from me. Not again._

_Dirt and dust blew to his face and Jack had to cover his eyes to get through the thick smoke of powder that is swirling around. He couldn't see a thing._

_Debris is flying everywhere but he didn't take much notice of it. He is only concerned about one thing. Getting to his loved ones and rescue them._

_But before he could actually reach the place where the hotel used to stand, a flying block hit him in the head and knocked him unconscious._

_Darkness pooled into him as he fell down to the ground. Even then, he still thought about his wife and children._

Sydney stared at him with tears brimming in her eyes when her father finished. Everything sounded preposterous but everything in front of her is proof of that tale. Part of her doesn't want to believe him. But she can see the insurmountable pain her father is going through.

"I investigated the blast for three whole months. I couldn't find them. Every clue that I got only led me to a wild goose chase. I hated the CIA for what happened, why they didn't stop it. I kept blaming them for you brother and your sister's death. I blamed your mother for their deaths. But it was partly my fault too."

The tears Sydney tried to keep from falling trickled out of her eyes

"I love all of you. And I thought that it was best if I just erase their existence so that you wouldn't have to live with the pain." Jack said his voice cracking. "I was wrong and I'm sorry if I have been a bad father."

Sydney's eyes widened when she saw her father break down in tears.

Jack Bristow is crying.

"Dad…" Sydney trailed off. "Dad, we all make mistakes."

"Yes, but I shouldn't have done that… I shouldn't have killed her. I loved her."

Sydney stood up from her seat and approached her father. She kneeled down right beside him and looked held his hand. "Dad, I'm sorry…"

"I don't deserve it."

Her heart broke. Her father had suffered so much and yet, he kept it all to himself. Fourteen years of misery and pain and yet no one seemed to know what he's feeling.

A few minutes later, her father looked up to her and gave a sorrowful smile. "You and Nadia liked their names."

"If ever Nadia remembers, she's bound to get angry."

Jack nodded his head. "Sloane believes that he and Irina truly had an affair. He believes that Nadia is his daughter."

"Yes, but you don't want Sloane to be her father, right?"

Jack didn't say anything and instead just looked at her.

_I don't want to lie to you again. But I can't give you the whole truth right now. I hope you understand._

---


	2. two

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, except for the original ones so please bugger off. Don't sue too. Thank you and have a nice day…

**CHAPTER TWO**

_A bottle of wine, a big, comfortable bed and raunchy sex talk shouldn't be mixed together. With Jack, anything in bed is possible. Anything._

_She sighed and set her head on his warm, bare chest._

_"They want me to kill you."_

_That caught her attention. She looked up to him and saw that his face is serious. She raised a brow, prodding him to continue._

_"Rambaldi thing again. That's the reason I asked for a meeting." Jack answered and pulled her closer._

_Irina pursed her lips, a bit amused with the CIA's intent. "What is their misinterpretation now?"_

_"Kill you or Sydney to prevent the destruction of the world. Although I do believe that they can issue a kill order for you for the sheer reason of being a terrorist."_

_She muffled a laugh. "You're right on both counts." She rolled away from him and took a folder by the side table. Irina pulled up the blanket as she handed the files to Jack._

_Jack opened the folder and found copies of fully translated Rambaldi opuses inside. "How did you get this?" He asked, confused. Almost all Rambaldi experts were hired by the CIA. Testaments to the dictum 'If you can't beat them, join them.'_

_"I have my sources." She kept her tone and her facial expressions, neutral._

_"Not a mole from the CIA?" He quizzically asked, and raised a brow._

_"I have geniuses by my side." She answered. "Geniuses who are interested in Rambaldi but who don't really believe in his predictions."_

_"You trust them?"_

_"Of course I trust them." She replied, smiling a bit. Aside from being trustworthy geniuses, they never fail to make her smile and be such good company. Too much of a good thing._

_"More trustworthy than me?"_

_An amused sound escaped her lips as she lightly placed her right hand on his chest. She then looked at him and smiled wider._

_"Take a wild guess." Irina answered teasingly. Her eyes are locked on his luscious lips._

_He leaned forward and kissed her._

_"Are you going to kill me now?" she asked after their lips parted._

_Jack smiled. "No, the CIA wants a show. And we'll give them a show."_

(CIA Safe house, Prague.)

"What are we doing here?"

Arvin Sloane looked at Nadia, who is sitting in front of him. She looks so beautiful and yet looks so afraid.

"I'm sorry if I told you that we will uncover the Sphere of Life. It was just a ruse to take the Covenant off your back. I am with the CIA, Nadia. You can trust the CIA."

She looked at him incredulously. "You tricked me into going with you only to be handed back to the CIA?"

Sloane stood up from his chair. "Do you remember when you asked Sydney if your agency was informed of your rescue? Nadia, they were informed back then, and the CIA was negotiating that you be transferred to us."

"Why?" She asked, following her father's movements.

"So that you can be near your sister. Don't you want that?"

She looked at him, raising a brow. "Of course I want that. But what about Rambaldi? Was that… desire to see him an act?"

Sloane shook his head. "No, of course not. But your safety is important."

Nadia looked at him inquiringly. "Okay. But what about Sydney's father? Won't he get uncomfortable that… the fruit of his ex-wife's affair with his ex-best friend is working near him?"

Sloane didn't answer her and just shrugged. 'Nadia has no idea what she is talking about.' he thought as they waited for their contact.

A few minutes later, the door to the room opened. Sloane looked up and found the people they were waiting for.

"Ahh… you're finally here."

Nadia turned to where Sloane is looking and saw Dixon and Jack entering the room. They are wearing dark suits and they look so serious. Nadia sighed, thinking that all senior CIA agents must be trained to wear facial expressions as if they are to go to a funeral.

"Ms. Santos, I'm sorry for the deception but it was a necessary step to ride the Covenant off your tail."

As Dixon briefed Nadia, Sloane looked at Jack. "Can I talk to you outside?"

Jack stoically looked at him and went out of the room. Sloane followed him out.

"What do you want?" Jack asked as Sloane closed the door.

"I know what you've done." Sloane answered, looking at Jack directly in the eye. Jack didn't react at all and just looked at him blankly.

"What I have done?" Jack asked. "I have done lots of things, Arvin. Please be specific."

Irritation coursed through Sloane's veins when he heard the impassive tone. It angers him to think that he was betrayed long before they stopped being friends. That he made him suffer by letting him think about his infidelity to Emily when in fact; there was no infidelity at all.

"What you have done to Nadia!" He hissed. "Did you leave her in Argentina to rot? Her stories about her childhood… have you no shame?!"

Jack's eyes glittered with spite. "I made lots of mistakes Arvin. But leaving her there was not one of them. It was for her safety." He then let out a deep breath, reigning in his anger. "Don't you think that it didn't hurt me to leave her? To erase her memories, of me, Irina and her siblings? Knowing that if ever we see each other again, she wouldn't recognize me as her father, but I would know her as **my** daughter? It was painful and it was hard, but I lived through it."

Arvin Sloane looked at the man in front of him. In outward appearance, Jack Bristow seems cold, aloof, calculating, a so-what-don't-care demeanor. But he knows that the Jack Bristow inside has inner demons. Demons that made him a broken weary and stuck-in-the-past man. The Jack Bristow inside is actually much harder to deal with.

"You will tell her." Sloane said, in a matter-of-fact way.

"No."

Anger filled him. "I am not Nadia's father. You are. She deserves to know the truth."

"She will not accept it."

Sloane snorted. "Who would?" he snapped. "If you're not going to tell her, I will. And if I'll not be able to do it, then your eldest daughter will. The truth hurts Jack. And you've been living in lies for the past fourteen years."

He took one last look at Jack and then left.

-x-x-x-

Weiss walked into Vaughn's hospital room and found Sydney and Marshall inside. Marshall is seated in a wheelchair and still in patient's garb. Sydney is seated by Vaughn's bed and seems amuse about what Marshall is talking about.

"Hey there, guys. Hey Marshall." He greeted. "How ya feeling?"

Marshall grinned. "I'm feeling fine. Except that I don't see Carrie and Mitchell everyday. And the food… is horrible. Expected since this is a hospital…"

Weiss smiled and then turned to Vaughn. "What about you?"

"Pretty fine since they'll be releasing me after a day or so." Vaughn answered beamingly giving a twinkle in his beautiful, green eyes. Weiss looked at his friend and for him, he looked healthier and it seems that the collapsed lung and knife wound is now just a memory in his body.

"So, how was your mission?" Sydney asked after Weiss took a seat.

He made a face. "It was horrible. Everything malfunctioned at the last minute and the intel that we were supposed to retrieve was destroyed by a virus that was uploaded immediately after everything broke down."

"Who uploaded the virus?" Marshall asked, interested. "I heard an incident that happened with the FSB. All of their servers were destroyed."

"Really? I haven't heard of that." Sydney remarked. This is a very interesting topic. Computer worms/viruses and their creators are very interesting criminals.

Marshall thought for a while. "Weiss, did any message or cartoon flashed in the screen? Like some sort of PowerPoint presentation or something? Or one of those pop-out things on the Internet?"

Weiss is a bit surprised with Marshall's serious tone. "Uh… I wasn't in front of the screen when the virus was uploaded. But Kane muttered something about cartoons and the computer program."

"What is it Marshall?" Vaughn asked. Marshall looks so worried.

He shook his head and smiled. "Nothing. Just those rumors are so… I mean the hacker is a genius! He or she must be from the future or something and was sent here to wreak havoc in his or her past by fooling around with the espionage world's computers. He or she employs a next gen's, next gen's technology."

Sydney thought for a while. "Do they know his or her alias? I mean, from the rumors?"

Marshall tried to move his wheelchair. "Uh… rumors… yeah, I think I heard rumors about their names." He moved forward a bit and bumped into Vaughn's bed. "Uh, sorry 'bout that." He said sheepishly.

"Marshall?" Weiss asked.

The CIA resident genius looked at him. "They're just gossip. Its not… a factual presentation of… criminals."

"Hey, we're all interested." Vaughn said after looking at Weiss and Sydney's faces. They are all intrigued.

Marshall mulled for a bit. "Well, I heard that he or she named him or herself after a Greek god or something. Apollo? Or was it Ares? Rumors has it that his virus is shaped into intertwined A's. It is also said that he infuse humor with his crimes."

"Humor with his crimes? How so?" Sydney asked.

Marshall shrugged a bit. "Oh like, when he destroyed FSB servers, The Simpson's were dancing the 'Ketchup Song' around the monitors. The volume was in full blast."

"That's still a rumor, right?" Weiss asked.

Marshall grinned. "I guess."

-x-x-x-

The darkness cloaks him as he moves stealthily about his surroundings. The guards that are roaming about around seem to be alert for anything but him.

He started to move one with the shadows and he will eliminate everyone who stands in his way. No one will interfere with his mission.

He reached the door. The silhouettes of the building hide him but not protect him. He took the pendant of the chain that is dangling in his neck and inserted it on the automatic lock. The colorful buttons flickered as his scrambler decode the eight digit code. A few seconds later, the door unlocked itself from the inside. He looked around to see if his presence was felt, but it appears that the guards hasn't noticed his being there.

"Athena, I'm in." He whispered as he lowered his night vision goggles.

"_Roger that. Disabling thermal detectors."_

He kept steady, patient with his only contact in the outside world.

"_Okay, you're free to move."_

"Thank you." he replied and began to progress out of the room.

The area is bare. But it is the most important space in the whole building. All kinds of security precautions are applied because this room is the only entrance and exit. Everything goes through this room.

Athena had disabled the laser sensors and the thermal detectors. But Athena has to wait for him to get near the corridor to be able to disable the security feed.

"_The control room is at the northern part. Five guards, all are heavily armed. Five feet from the room are motion detector sensors."_

"Can you disable it?"

"_IF you have the scrambler, yes."_

"Well, I guess you'll not be able to render it inoperative after all." He teased. "Just joking. I have it here."

He heard a chuckle at the end of the com link. The laugh energized him into doing better.

As he neared the doorway out, he found it dark and deserted. But through the night vision goggles, he can see the lens of the surveillance cameras, moving left and right, waiting to blow the whistle to alert for intruders.

"_The surveillance cameras are inoperative."_

They work together like a timepiece. They don't need to alert each other or brief each other over and over again to make things go smoothly. They are in sync. They work alike. They think alike.

He ran into the corridors, a silenced gun ready in his hands.

"_Eleven minutes before thermal detector return online and fourteen minutes before the surveillance cameras return online."_

"Thank you for the reminder." He replied. The contact of the guards' shoes to the steel floor reverberates to his position.

"_Stop there and place the scrambler on the wall, by the pipelines."_

He immediately followed the command. He placed the scrambler to where Athena ordered him to put it and waited to be told to go.

"_Okay, you're free to gas them."_

He took a container of sleeping gas from his 'magical' pockets and threw it into the corridor. Athena most probably fooled the motion detectors by looping the guards' actions. But he readied his gun in case somebody isn't unconscious.

As he went inside, he saw the machine that interconnects all the computers of the NSA, the FBI, the DoD, the CIA and the NSC. A very good help for them, but puts all these agencies at a disadvantage.

He took a seat and quickly installed the program he and Athena created. A program that will enable them to monitor information that comes in and out of the computers. After the program was ensconced, he quickly left the room.

"_Five minutes before thermal detectors go back online, eight minutes before surveillance cameras go online and eleven minutes before motion detectors go back online."_

"Roger that."

He ran back, quietly and stealthily as he could. If everything goes to plan, he'll be out in no time."

At last, he reached the entrance/exit. The barest room of them all. He went out and found everything still quiet.

"_Checking radars… you're free to leave, Angel. T-man is waiting for you in the extraction point."_

He moved, once again, being hidden by the shadows. No one will know they were there.

And when they find what they need, the agencies will never know what hit them.


	3. three

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, except for the original, crazy ones so please don't sue.

**CHAPTER THREE**

Nadia is sitting cross-legged in front of the television, watching a re-run of South Park. One of the characters, Kenny, has been killed off again. But she knows that the demise is just short lived.

"You know, I don't understand why they keep on killing him off. He's going to come back again. Like a cat with hundreds of lives to spare." Nadia said to Sydney, who sat down beside her. She's holding a cup of tea. It's a Saturday and they are not obligated to go to APO. They have the day to just lounge around and do whatever they want.

"Its part of the entertainment." Sydney answered, sipping her beverage. IF her father is lying about her mother's condition, which is dead, then her cartoon version is Kenny of South Park. The invincible, deathless Kenny.

'If mom turns out to be alive, can I explain that to Nadia? That our mother is Kenny's counterpart in the real world?' she thought, setting the cup on the coffee table.

"Why do you like it" Sydney asked her sister when she saw Nadia smile in one of the scenes.

"It's funny. I agree that it's violent and a bit rude, but it's funny…" she shrugged as she explained. She then looked at her sister and asked, "Don't you like it? I can change the channel if you want…"

Sydney smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine with it. Don't worry." Sydney replied. "What do you want to watch after this? We have all the time to kill…"

Just as she said that, both their cell phones rang.

Sydney inwardly groaned. She shouldn't have said that. The reverse of what she said always happen.

She took her phone and then handed Nadia hers.

_911 APO_

Nadia sighed. "I guess we have no time to kill after all." She looked at Sydney. Her sister gave a consoling smile.

"They'll owe us. So, shall we?" Sydney stood up. Nadia turned off the television and slipped off the sofa.

"Yes. We shall."

-x-x-x-

_December 1989_

_Brussels, Belgium_

"_Have you found her?"_

_Jack looked at Irina. Worry and anxiety is clearly traced in her face._

"_No, not yet." He answered. Her shoulders lagged and her face saddened. Jack went towards Irina and embraced her._

"_Nathan and Sofya, they noticed that Nadia… they noticed that she's not here. They noticed that you and Sydney aren't here everyday."_

_Jack kissed her. "I'm sorry."_

"_Don't apologize. I should be the one who should apologize. I put all of you into this mess." Irina sobbed. "It's my fault."_

_Her shoulders are shaking. And he felt the need to relieve her of this pain. "Hush now, its going to be okay. We're going to find her. I promise."_

"_But what if we don't?"_

"_Let's not be pessimists." Jack said and looked at his wife's face. The tears are still falling down her cheeks. _

_He gently wiped them away with his hands and gave her a comforting smile. "We'll find her."_

_She saw the hope glimmer in his beautiful brown eyes and felt his words comfort her. Jack is her rock and she trusts and loves him. Trusts and loves him with all her life._

_Irina nodded her head. "Yes, we'll find her."_

"Jack?"

He realized that he is staring into space, remembering again. Jack looked at the speaker and saw Sloane looking at him. It's his turn to address the agents.

"The main servers of the FBI, the NSC, the NSA and the CIA, except for ours, were corrupted by an unknown virus. The APO has been tasked to investigate on this matter since all of the agencies are blind."

Vaughn shifted in his seat. "And how are we going to do that?"

Jack looked at Marshall signaling him to start.

"Well, I've located the source of the transmission…" Marshall stood up and turned on the monitor for his little 'presentation'.

"Uh… I triple checked it to be sure… the signals are coming from San Francisco…"

"San Francisco?" Nadia repeated. "Your terrorists are Americans?"

"Uh… that I don't know… I checked their locations… the source of the transmission that hit the FBI and the NSC came from a location near the Univ. of California, and the source of transmission that hit the NSA and the CIA came from a residential area, five kilometers from the first one."

He gave them each a folder of documents. Marshall smiled a bit uncomfortably. "Uh, do you remember the time I told you about a hacker who destroyed FSB servers? Well, I think this is him."

Nadia looked a bit confused. "Could you please explain? I don't really know what you're talking about."

"Uh, sorry." Marshall replied a bit embarrassed. "Somebody hacked into the FSB servers a few weeks ago, totally destroying their files, while at the same time, playing a… funny video. Everything was destroyed. Nothing was retrieved, nor saved by their best technicians." He motioned them to open their folder. "Now I saw a logo, some sort of signature. Intertwined A's."

Marshall then 'played' his presentation. Loud music blared from the speakers.

"Here's the humor."

A video clip is being shown over and over. A penguin is waddling along the ice, skimming near the water. He passes by another penguin who slaps him. The waddling penguin falls to the water.

The video clip has a caption: _Don't trust the penguins._

Marshall is smiling, obviously amused with the video. Dixon, Jack, Sloane, Sydney, Vaughn, Weiss and Nadia are looking at him, waiting for him to continue his explanation.

"Marshall?" Sloane impatiently said.

Their tech snapped out of his little musings and returned his attention back to their meeting. "Oh, sorry. I did a little digging, and according to some reliable sources, our hackers are known as Angel and Athena. And they are in San Francisco."

"Thank you, Marshall." Sloane said, interjecting quickly so that Marshall will not be able to make this meeting longer by telling an unrelated story to this situation.

"Intel suggests that Angel and Athena are currently affiliated with a rising black market dealer, Mikhail Premenov." He continued, and showed them a photograph through the monitor. "Mr. Premenov is involved in weapons trade, intel exchange… and several other illegal things."

Sydney gazed at the picture. Although only the left half of his face is showing, the young man in the picture looks familiar. "Is he part of the Covenant?"

"No. Our sources suggest that he has no interest at all to be part of the Covenant." Jack answered, looking at his daughter, who is still looking at the picture. His gaze then wandered off to Nadia. She too, is looking at the photograph with great concentration.

'What is it with that picture?' He thought and looked at the monitor. The man in the screen is fairly young, almost the same age as Sark. The dark, tousled wavy hair covered his ears, but Jack can clearly see the square jaw, the aristocratic nose and the sharp cheekbones. A scar from the forehead that extends to the lower left eye does not make him ugly. In fact, he is a very attractive young man. His mother must be proud of his looks.

There's something very familiar about him, though. Something familiar.

"…Jack will have operational control once you've settled in San Francisco."

Jack head snapped towards the direction of Sloane. He cleared his throat and glared. He didn't know that this… mission entails him to join.

Arvin Sloane looked at him, but ignored the glare. "This meeting will be continued later until everything is finalized. All of you may leave."

The agents stood up to leave. Except for Jack. Sydney glanced at her father. She can see that irritation is in his eyes. He clearly doesn't want Nadia to be in this mission.

When the last of them left, Jack turned to look at Sloane. "I am not needed for this."

"The CIA wants someone with seniority to head this mission."

"Nadia in this mission? I hardly think it's appropriate." Jack stoically replied. Sloane shook his head and clasped his hands together.

"Jack, she's going to be with Weiss. Your… real relation to her will not be revealed. Unless someone will tell her."

A flicker of irritation flashed in Jack's eyes. "She wants to know about Irina. I obviously can't tell who really killed her, can I?"

He obviously can't tell that he _accidentally_ sent her mother to die. He didn't tell Sydney that.

"Jack, she just wants to know about her mother. Give her something. Something nice. Something she can hold on to."

Jack coolly evaluated the person in front of him. He can see that something is brewing behind Arvin Sloane's mind. Something that involves his two daughters. Something involved with Rambaldi.

'_That's why you agreed to work with him. You want to protect your children.' _

The thought reverberated in his head. His stoic facial expression still remained the same.

"I'll be… onboard this mission with her for only three weeks. After that… it's either you pull me out or you pull her out."

Sloane nodded his head. Jack stood up and left.


	4. four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

A half empty box of pizza is lying atop the table, together with several folders. Half empty glasses of iced tea is set at the center.

"We're going to monitor six college sophomores? All girls?" Vaughn asked, as he checked all of the folders. "Are they sure that one of them is the hacker?" he reclined on the couch and looked at Sydney. They are in an "abandoned" warehouse, getting ready for their move to San Francisco.

"That's where Marshall pinpointed one of the sources of transmission. Knowing Marshall…" Weiss trailed off. "And besides, Nadia and I are also going to assist Jack."

"Why? What's wrong with six girls?" Sydney asked, not looking up from the folder she is reading.

Vaughn looked at her. "College girls tend to have some sort of… party animal behaviors? Anyway, I have bad memories of college parties being organized by girls."

"Oh, you mean girls this pretty?" Weiss asked, holding out a surveillance photograph of one of their targets. "Rich, pretty, smart. You're afraid to go to parties organized by rich, intelligent, gorgeous girls?"

"We're going to live next door to them. What if they hold parties everyday?" Vaughn answered.

Nadia looked at the picture Weiss is holding and looked at the matching civilian profile in her folder. "Don't worry, Vaughn. Everyone in that apartment has clean records. Well, at least no one has complained when they do have parties."

"Half of them are rich kids." Weiss piped in. "They bribe their neighbors."

An amused smile fluttered across Nadia's face. "We'll see about that, wouldn't we, Sydney?"

"Currently speaking, the CIA has assigned some people to tail them before we do it ourselves. So… hold on to your 'bribing the neighbors' theories." Sydney answered, smiling. She then turned to Vaughn. "Don't worry, Mr. Patterson. We'll ask them to tone down the music if they are party animals."

"Thank you for that assurance, Mrs. Patterson."

-x-x-x-

_She strives in business. The hustle and the bustle, the competition, the profit. She strives for perfection, in the service for the customers, to be a stellar example in the market._

Eoclin Antoinette Zagmun was born not to tolerate mediocrity.

"Please. Of all the days to go slow, why did you choose the day the French Ambassador will come for lunch!" She exclaimed. This is the fourth time she has entered the sanctity of the kitchen of her beloved restaurant.

A flurry of French expletives followed. She wants everything done. Gracefully, tastefully, beautifull and effectively.

"What else do you need?"

"Ms. Zagmun, Monsieur Zephyr broke his arm!" One of her assistants reported.

She automatically clenched her jaw. Losing her temper in front of these people will not them anywhere. They will just shrivel up and die, and nothing will be finished.

"Arrgh! Holy mother of the… You-" she pointed to one of her assistants. "Take care of the Ambassador's wants and needs. Make sure music is played! And you-" she pointed to the dishwasher. "Wash your hands. Tell the others to shape up and fix their work or face the consequences. I'm going to cook!"

Her employees saw her seriousness. The leader in their leader. They all know she's not joking.

Eoclin Antoinette Zagmun does not joke about work.

At eighteen years old, she has acquired a great sense of responsibility and discipline, a trait that has been passed to her by her mother and her father. She was raised to be the best in everything, to be able to handle her father's multi-million dollar chain of hotels and restaurants. They want her to succeed. They expect her to be successful. But amidst all that they want her to be happy.

Eoclin Antoinette Zagmun is happy being successful.

Her strawberry blonde hair is tied up on top of her head, and her silver eyes, which blazed in anger a while ago, now speaks of great focus and concentration. Her lithe, five foot six inches frame nimbly moved around her workstation. It was hard not to your eyes off her, but her employees knows that they have to move. Or face her wrath.

Minutes ticked by. The food started to flow in.

It pays to be a genius in culinary sense. It also pays to have money to hone this talent.

As the dessert rolled off the kitchen, Eoclin sighed in relief.

'Whew, that was done.' She thought as she began to clean her workstation. A chef is responsible for his or her own things. and she is a world acclaimed chef.

Her assistant entered the kitchen. "Ms. Zagmun?"

She looked up from the knife she is cleaning.

Her assistant raised two thumbs up. "He loved everything."

A smile lighted up her face.

Eoclin Antoinette Zagmun delights in making people happy with her cooking.

_CIA assessment: Dependable, well disciplined. OCD afflicted. Moderate level in computer literacy._

-x-x-x-

It is such a wonderful day. The sun is shining, the birds are singing and it's neither hot nor cold.

The park is the perfect place to go in this kind of day.

When one strolls around the park, one would see people walking their dogs, the children running and playing around, lovers and families and having a picnic.

But in the benches, by the large oak tress, there sits a stunning girl, reading a thick, hard bound novel. Her black, straight, waist length hair moved with the strong wind that passed the place.

She sighed when strands covered her face. She then set her book down and reached for something to tie her with from her bag. As her hands searched, her amethyst orbs scanned her surroundings.

She noticed several people, mostly men, looking at her. She gave them a glare that sent all of them to look in the other direction.

Nasha Zofiya Ysidro knows she looks different. Her ancestry is from colorful characters; a Native American hottie who kidnapped a newly migrated Irish Rose (her great grandparents), a Half Cherokee, half Irish marrying someone he first thought was from the Italian mafia (her grandparents), and then her mother, bickering and then marrying a Spanish lawyer.

She feels weird. She feels that she looks weird.

Her golden skin is a product of genetics and not the product of the continued exposure to the Californian sun. The color of her eyes, amethyst to some, purple to others, and to her, blue (says so in her birth certificate and her driver's license) is a gift from her great grandmother. Frankly she can't understand how her great grandmother Lily fell in love with her great grandfather, Soaring Eagle.

'Hmm… must be his broad muscular shoulders, his beautifully sculpted face, his long lean body and his impossibly white teeth.' She thought remembering the faded photograph in her grandparent's house.

Her great grandfather was a total hunk.

Nasha sighed once again. Waiting for her friend in the park is tiring. She's patient, but the stares she's getting is starting to annoy her.

She looked at her watch. She's going to wait for ten minutes before she leaves.

Seconds went and turned into minutes. Her digital watch says its two minutes before her "deadline". She slowly stood up, readying to leave.

In the corner of her eye, she saw her friend running towards her.

"Oh, god. I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"

_CIA assessment: Patient to a fault, reads everywhere (and we mean everywhere). Computer literacy is moderate._

-x-x-x-_  
_

Music is her life. Whether creating, playing or listening, its part of her. Music is a gift to her. it's a way of life. Now one can take it away from her.

Diamond Xavier, aka Dylan, was born hearing the beautiful music of Mozart. Her father brought a radio in the hospital because her mother told him to do so. But he would have brought it, no matter what her mother told him.

Her father, a reporter for the New York Times, plays the saxophone, while her mother, a photographer for the National Geographic, was a trained opera singer. It was logical that their children will be musically inclined.

She has the talent, the voice, the looks, but sometimes, discrimination bars her from fully expanding her capabilities. Her father is an African-American, to some people "black". Her mother is a blonde haired, blue eyed, Canadian, a "white". There are still people, apparently, who are uncomfortable with the idea of the marriage.

'God, such narrow mindedness!' she thought as she worked her way through the streets. Narrow minded people annoys her. The narrow mindedness makes the world annoying.

She mentally ticked off the things she has accomplished for the day as she crossed the street. She has only a few more things to do before she can lounge in the sofa, back in their apartment. Dylan didn't notice the second glances she is receiving from both men and women.

She unconsciously flexed her fingers. She's to play for a diplomat, probably a two hour affair. She began to walk faster, but carefully enough that her black linen slack and white sating blouse will not wrinkle.

Her small frame of five four glided in the sea of people and finally reached the Regent, the place she's temporarily working.

As she walked in, several colleagues and patrons greeted her. They all love the way Dylan's long fingers caress the piano keys like a gentle lover.

"Hey Danny. Where's Eoc's?" she asked as she walked in the employees lounge. "I haven't seen her in the front desk."

"Ms. Zagmun is seething in anger inside the kitchen."

"Oh." She replied. Her friend, Eoclin, seems really bitchy when she's in the kitchen, leading her minions to the ultimate quest for the best food and service around the world. But in actuality, she's sweet, caring.

"Hey, Dylan. The Ambassador will here in a few minutes."

Dylan looked at Danny with her clear blue eyes. "Thanks. I'll be… warming up."

A few minutes later, Diamond Xavier, aka Dylan, emerged from the employees lounge and glided to the grand piano. She gently laid her fingers on top of the ivory keys.

She started to play. The music took her to places only she can reach when she plays. No one can take it from her. She will not allow them to take it away.

_CIA assessment: Sarcastic. Stubborn, but mature enough to accept that certain things are not supposed to be made her way. Not enough chance to see if she's computer literate._

-x-x-x-

"Think you can handle it?"

She looked at him and grinned. This is her life!

The waves greeted her as she ran towards them. When the cold water splashed by her legs, she instantly felt at home.

Guinevere Wellington was most probably a dolphin in her past life.

As she rode the waters, the frustration and sadness that lingers in her head eased away. Her parents' latest fallout is making her uneasy. She knows that they love each other but the communication is missing.

Technically speaking, she's adopted. But her bond with her father and mother is stronger than biological ties.

_Forget these problems. They will come to pass._

Surfing is freedom for her. freedom from everything.

A nasty wave swept Guinevere off her board. She fell to the water.

The fear of drowning never touched her. Not even as a child. Ever since she can remember, she always have loved being in the water. Its been the longest love affair she has had in her whole short life of seventeen.

She surfaced up to the water, her bright smile shining brighter than the sun. Surfing just gives her that rush. She walked towards the shore, and tucked the errant strands of wet blonde hair away from her beautiful face. She looked back to the sea. Her tanned, athletic body wants to go back to the water but she knows that there are still things to do.

"Hey Genny. Get some ice cream with us." One of her guy friends asked.

She smiled. "Sorry. I have to get back to San Francisco."

They laughed. "Hey, we know that you're serious about school, Physics and stuff. But you've been back here in the OC like two hours ago. Loosen up a bit."

"Come on, grab chocolate ice cream with us and then we'll let you go."

Genny mockingly sighed. "Fine. Okay." Her mock exasperation was followed by a girlish giggle.

Dolphins are social creatures. And its probably correct to say that Guinevere Wellington was a dolphin in her last life.

_CIA assessment: Sociable, friendly, helpful albeit slightly absent minded. Normally seen with a laptop by her side._

-x-x-x-

Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead as she ran around the field. This is her third and her lungs feel like bursting. But she has two more rounds to go. She's the only one who is allowed to run for only five laps.

Beautiful as the day may seem, there are actually people who'll slave away to get what they want. People like her. Lex Vadison. She's do anything to win. Anything to win the championship.

She was born to be a winner. She was born to be the best. She was born to succeed.

"Alexia, didn't I tell you to get contact lenses!"

She waved him off. If she has great reflexes, as they have said, she'd have no problems at all blocking a speeding ball to her face and then slam into her eyeglasses. She'll never let a dirty, muddy ball touch her face. Period.

The tall(almost 5'9) raven haired beauty might be a sight to see, jogging around the football field with the university team, the only girl and the only sophomore active for the games. She's the only goal keeper and the best one at that.

Georgia Alexia Vadison may not look like it, but she two mean arms and powerful legs. An asset in her sport.

Two small intersecting lines by the base of her right jaw, a memento of the past she can't remember, give her an aura of toughness. But it doesn't hide the fact that she's beautiful. And intelligent. Most people overlook that.

"Alexia, are you done?"

She gritted her teeth. She hates being called Alexia. And Georgia.

"One more and I'll be done." She called out, her British accent clearly resounding in the open field.

"After this, go to the goals!"

She sighed and continued to jog. Her legs are aching and she is so out of breath.

"It sucks being the only one, doesn't it?"

She looked at the speaker by her right side. It is the captain and he's grinning at her. He's cute and has killer kicks, but unfortunately, an air head.

"Yes, it sucks. But its nothing compared to a team who has three keepers and yet they can't seem to block every goal attempted by their opponent. Now that really sucks."

And with that, she sprinted off, leaving him with dust.

Running, ball and kicking exercises followed. It was the same procedure, but her legs can't seem to get use to it. Her heart felt like stopping. She has a very low endurance.

The time for the scrimmage came. Her competitive streak surfaced. She wants to win. No losing for her.

It lasted for twenty minutes. They won, 1-0.

"Hey, Lex. What are you doing Friday night?"

"Catching a plane to Italy, to visit my mother." It is a well known fact to the people that Georgia Alexia Vadison and her brother, Gabriel, were raised by nannies. Their mother's involvement in their growth can be likened to a prop.

"Oh, well. Have a fun time with her."

She can barely contain the lethal gaze she gave her teammate. He knows that she'd rather shrivel up and die than visit her mother.

"Thank you for that thought." She said coldly and walked away from them.

_CIA assessment: Most serious of the six. The only time she uses a computer is when she wants to do assignments. Which is rare._

-x-x-x-

For some people, numbers are the most loathed "inventions" ever made. It determines your wealth, your weight, your height, your age and your rank. But without numbers, our lives will be chaos.

Numbers give the structure in our lives.

This is what Alexis Andrea Treadcliffe believes in.

Numbers give meaning in our lives.

'Hmph. If you live and breathe math, probably. But hell no!' she thought. Her eyes, the color of coal scanned the math books, in search for answers to her assignments. Something she likes to do in the sanctity of the College Library.

'Hmm… what am I looking for again?' she asked to herself and looked at her neat organized notes. Her eyes then spied the wall clock across her.

3.05

'Holy sht! I'm late!'

Deia quickly and mindlessly collected her things from the table. She's going to meet a friend in the park and she's already five minutes late.

Filipino time. The time she doesn't believe in.

She is half Swiss, half Filipino who lives in San Francisco. A bit weird, but a reality. She is grateful to have a very diverse cultural background, but Filipino time, the habit of coming in fashionably late (but still late) is not one of those things she appreciates in the culture. It's a bad habit.

She scrambled out of the hallway and out of the library.

'Dammit. She's going to kill me.'

Her long athletic legs, an investment in soccer back in high school, began to pick up speed as she ran down the steps. Her light brown wavy hair she put in a loose ponytail seems to be flying on her face.

'Ack. If only my parents could see me. They'd probably disapprove.'

Her parents, a banker and a teacher are prompt people. And they taught her… no, imbibed the value of promptness in her.

As she rounded the corner, she saw her friend standing up, getting ready to leave her. she ran faster. a few seconds later, they met.

"Oh, god. I'm sorry. Did you wait long?"

_CIA assessment: Always late, patient, an environmentalist. High level of computer literacy, going as far as programming. Code blue for this target._


	5. five

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, so please don't sue. I am just borrowing them, okay? No need to worry.

**CHAPTER FIVE**

_I walk this lonely road the only one that I have ever known. I don't know where it goes but its home to me and I walk alone._

Jack is warily looking at the "moving men" that are transporting his furniture to his new "home". It's a warm Saturday morning, a wonderful day. The children are playing outside with their parents discreetly watching them once in a while through the windows.

His alias is James Brennen, a Physics teacher, widowed. He has one child, also a teacher and married to a rich businessman. His neighbors, Pitte Benson and his family, are currently residing in one of the places where Marshall traced the source of Angel and Athena's "computer bug of destruction".

Sloane agreed to pull him out of this mission after three weeks, if ever this operation will take that long. After that, Director Chase will be alerting the FBI of Angel and Athena's whereabouts. But she stated that it is necessary that the APO will be the ones who will apprehend Angel, Athena or Mikhail Premenov. For what reasons, that they don't know.

"ROAN BENJAMIN BENSON. BE CAREFUL!"

Jack was startled a bit with the loud voice. He looked at the direction of the commotion and saw a young boy of about ten with light brown hair, dangling on a tree branch. A blonde woman is standing by the tree, looking up at the boy.

"But mom…"

"I'm counting 'till three. 1…2…"

The boy performed a somersault and landed with both feet firmly on the ground. "See mom. I told you I'll not fall… oh wow, a moving truck!" the boy exclaimed and ran towards him.

"Good morning, sir. Are you the new owner of the house?" He asked, his inquisitive brown eyes sparkling.

Jack can't help but smile. "Why, yes. Are you my next door neighbor?"

The boy stood up straighter. "Yes sir. My name is Roan Benjamin Benson, eleven and at your service."

Jack chuckled. "Well, I'm James Brennen." Jack answered and offered his hand. Roan shook it vigorously.

He then looked at the woman trailing behind. "That's my mom. She worries too much." Roan said in an almost plotting tone.

His mother smiled at Jack. "I'm Elaine Benson." She said. She offered a hand and smiled at him.

Jack took her hand and gave a firm shake. He smiled at her and her hazel eyes sparkled as she smiled even wider at him.

"I hope you like this neighborhood." She said.

"Yeah, it's super cool!" Roan interjected, jumping around. "You'll like it here, Mr. Brennen." The young boy repeated. He was immediately drawn to their new neighbor and he doesn't know why.

Jack felt a bit uncomfortable with the easiness of the child around him. Most of the time, children look at him with slight fear.

"Mom, let's invite Mr. Brennen to dinner." Roan suggested to his mother. His mother gave him a warning glance, but he ignored it.

"Could you come for dinner, sometime, Mr. Brennen?" he asked, turning to Jack.

Jack looked at Roan's mother and then back to the boy. If he had introduced himself as Jack Bristow, he would have refused outright. But for three weeks, he's going to be James Brennen. And James Brennen is an accommodating, easygoing man.

"If your mother approves, then, yes, I'd… love to have dinner with your family."

Roan gave him a big smile and then turned his attention back to his mother.

"Well, Mr. Brennen. I hope you'd be able to come this Sunday." Elaine Benson said. She looked at her watch and then gave Jack a small smile as she touched her son's shoulder.

"Well, we'd better be off. His sister has a swimming competition."

He watched as they walked away with Roan jumping with every step.

'I wonder what Nathan would have been like if he…'

Jack brushed the thoughts away, knowing full well that it's not good to dwell on the past. The memory still lingered in his head, though.

_18 March 1989_

_He is walking on the bustling street of Bern, with a small plastic bag in his right hand and a one and half year old boy in the other. This little boy is his son, Nathan, who has Sydney's bedimpled smile, and Irina's olive skin, but an exact carbon copy of him. He even has his overly large ears._

"_Daddy gift mama?"_

_Jack looked at the little boy and smiled. "Yes. A gift for mama."_

"_Why?" his son asked, his hazel eyes glittering with curiosity._

"_Because it her birthday on Wednesday." Jack answered and lifted the boy, since they are nearing the busy intersection._

_The black haired child angled his head a bit. "What's birfday?"_

"_Hmm…" Jack thought of a simple explanation for a birthday. His son is very intelligent and Jack doesn't want to explain the intricacies of sexual reproduction. Not this early._

"_Birthday is the day you came to your mommy and daddy. You and Iya have the same birthday."_

"_We came together?"_

_Jack chuckled with his son's question. 'I wonder what Irina would say if she hears this.' He thought and shifted Nathan's position in his arms. "No, you came first and then Iya." He looked at the stoplight. It's still red. And he parked his car a few blocks from the intersection._

"_You give gifts birfdays?" Nathan asked._

_He nodded his head. "Yes."_

"_You give Iya and me birfday?"_

_Another chuckle. "Yes, mama and I will give you and Iya a gift on your birthday."_

"_When our birfday?_

_The light turned green and Jack walked across the street, carrying his 'packages'._

"_On the last day of May."_

"_Near?" The child inquired, his eyebrows unconsciously rising._

_Jack nodded his head. "Yes, it's near."_

_His son fell quiet. When his father says 'near', he'll believe him. His father always tells the truth._

_A few minutes later, Nathan looked at him again._

"_Why Iya, Synny and Naya not come?"_

_Jack smiled. "Because they will tell mama about the gift."_

"_Can I tell mama?" he asked. His father shook his head._

"_Not before she opens it. When she asks you, tell her it's a surprise." Jack answered, grinning._

_An identical grin appeared on Nathan's face._

"_Okay."_

"Mr. Brennen?"

The voice interrupted his thoughts. Jack blinked and then turned to the speaker. This is the second time in a few days that he's been doing this. Ever since he told the truth to Sydney.

"Yes?" Jack answered. The person who called him is one of the moving men cum APO/CIA agents.

"We've finished loading everything, sir."

"Everything?" Everything meaning, the surveillance equipment, the laptops and the scanners. Everything he needs to communicate back to APO.

"Yes sir. Everything."

"Oh, thank you." Jack stared at him, a small frown in his face. He didn't realize that he's been standing by the lamp post for some time.

The moving men quickly left. Jack watched the van move away from the house and away from the neighborhood. Away from the happy, carefree neighborhood.

Jack sighed and looked at his surroundings once again. The place reminds him too much of the past. And he doesn't want that. He has moved on from the past. And he wants to stay away from the past.

He turned to his new home. A simple three bedroom house, filled with the state of the art surveillance equipment and computers. He can also be connected to Marshall if he needs to. But all he wants to do right now, is fix his house. He can't toil in a messy workplace.

After taking one last look at his environment, he turned to the pathway and walked towards his house.

His neighbors are seeing an 'approachable' person, someone who can be a friend to all. But only he, the real person, knows the truth.

A killer. A coward. And a fool.

x-x-x-

"Irina."

Her name rolled out of his tongue like sweet honey, but she knew that this man is capable of anything. Like murder in cold blood.

"Wake up, Irina."

She pretended not to hear. Her movements are stilled as she willed not to breath. No matter what she does, whether she faces him or not, she will still go through hell. Making it hard for him will make them equal.

_Yeah. You wish._

"Irina."

A bucket of cold water followed her name. The water is so cold that she can feel her lips turning blue. She immediately looked up, shivering.

"Good, you are awake." He motioned his men to free her from her chains. As they did what they were told, the man observed Irina. This woman looks so pitiful. Her beautiful face is filled with bruises, her lips are pale, and her brown hair is matted with dried blood. She is so thin, the product of her six month imprisonment. But this woman is no ordinary woman. This woman has endured humiliation, torture, even rape, for the past six months, but they haven't broken her. She still wouldn't answer their questions truthfully.

"Chain her here." He commanded, gesturing to the shackles hanging from the ceiling.

Irina felt them pulling her arm in different directions. Her bruised body screamed in pain but she ignored it. They will not see her cry. She will not let them see her cry.

They chained her wrists and her ankles, creating new wounds over the bruises. The agony is unbearable. She can feel her skin ripping apart from the binds, and the tears she tried to repress flowed out of her eyes.

"The Great Irina Derevko is crying." The words tumbled out with his Russian accent as he started walking behind her. He lifted her shirt to check her back. The welts from last week's lashing are nowhere to be seen. There are no scars either.

'That green liquid is a miraculous concoction.' He thought as he let her shirt down. "The formula works well, don't you think?" he asked Irina and walked around to face her.

"Just answer the questions truthfully and we'll let you go. It's that simple. And yet you insist on being stubborn." He started, tapping the whip on his palm. "You've been with us for six months… but then again, everybody thinks you are dead."

_Not everyone, you buffoon!_

"I'm going to ask you twice, Irina. Where is the Decoder?" as if on cue, the remaining men turned to leave them alone.

He was responded with silence. Irina is stonily staring at him. For the past six months, they kept on asking her that question. A Rambaldi related question. Something she doesn't want to answer. She'd rather die than answer because hell will reign over earth if she gives them a real answer.

He shook his head and started to walk. The click of his shoes echoed ominously in her ears.

Irina didn't dare move a muscle. She's afraid. She doesn't want to be hit again.

'Why can't you just tell them the truth? Do you want to die!' a thought asked.

_I'd rather be the one who dies than them._

Suddenly, the crack of the whip resonated in the room. She heard it a split second before she felt excruciating pain. A shudder ran through her spine as she gasped for breath. The first blow is always the painful one; no matter how used you are to pain, its always going to hurt.

"Where is it?" he barked.

_It's with my daughter._

"Go to hell, you bastard!"

He hit her again.

And again.

And again.

Her body continuously jerked whenever the leather whip makes a violent contact with her back. She tried to overcome it, tried to think of the happier times to stop her from screaming out the answer to his question. But no amount of willpower is enough to repress the feeling of this torture. After a few lashes, she started to cry out in pain.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Irina screamed after a few minutes. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!"

He stopped. Not because he got his answer, but because her back is drenched with blood. He was ordered not to let the tortures lead to her death. They have no use for a dead person, especially when this person knows the location of what they are looking for.

"There is no use in lying, Irina. We know you've been keeping it." Her sobs just drowned his voice, but he knows that she heard him.

"They all think you are dead. You have no one to come home to, if ever you escape. Tell us now and we'll stop and we will let you live." He looked at her pitiful form. 'She is weak. We can break her now.'

"We are going to come back in a few days or so. Think about what I said."

And he turned to leave. But before he opened the door, her voice rang out.

"I swear to god, I'll kill you."

He looked at her and smiled.

Irina's eyes are filled with anger and hate.

"Your words, Irina. I'll be waiting."

A/N-so what do you think? Please review. Or else... tsk, tsk, tsk... 


	6. six

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, dead or alive except for the original ones, so please don't sue. Okay? Thank you and have a nice day.

A/N- Thank you to Adette, my patient beta reader. But all mistakes are still mine. Enjoy :D

**CHAPTER SIX**

The steady humming of the air conditioner is the only sound present in the room. Its occupants, Jack and Sydney Bristow are busy reviewing their optech, lesson plans and class schedule. They are also waiting for Vaughn, Weiss and Nadia to arrive.

"Are they done with planting the surveillance?" Jack asked, not looking from the class schedule he is reading.

"Yes, but according to Marshall, they won't be online until after forty-eight hours." Sydney answered, looking at her father. She still hasn't totally forgiven him for killing her mother, but that was the past. It's her father's deed. The guilt that comes after that deed is his problem, not hers.

"Forty-eight hours?" Jack repeated, this time looking up to her.

Sydney nodded her head. Her father's face is expressionless and she knows that he wants this mission to be over as quickly as possible.

"He's going to sweep the entire apartment for possible glitches in our system. Since the apartment is big, it's going to take time before the sweep finishes."

His eyebrows knotted in confusion before he resumed working. Sydney felt that there is something on his mind, and that it involves Nadia.

"You don't like working with Nadia, don't you?"

Jack looked up again. "I have no qualms about working with Nadia." He answered, lying. He has problems working alongside his second daughter. And Sloane knows that. And he will be the only one who knows about it.

"Then why do you want this mission to end so quickly?"

He shook his head. "I am too old to be participating in this kind of mission." He once again resumed on working on his lesson plan.

A contemplative look passed Sydney's face. 'Would he have said that if things were different? Would he be a different person if mom's alive, if the twins were alive?' The answer to her question is so obvious.

"What were they like?"

"Who?"

"The twins? When I saw the pictures… everyone was different. Everyone was happy."

His eyebrows knotted together. "Why?" His confusion is palpable. It can even be seen in his seemingly always stoic face.

"I just want to know. I don't really remember." Sydney answered, shrugging. She set down her pen and leaned back on her chair.

Jack just stared at her. Part of him doesn't want to tell her, but the other part wants to share, to impart those beautiful memories of their family. Before he and Irina's 'occupation' destroyed it.

A few minutes passed and Sydney sighed. "Fine. Just forget that I asked." She took her pen and resumed working on her class plan. If her father wants to be selfish, that is his choice. He kept a lot from her and he's still keeping a lot of things from her. She doesn't really care anymore.

_Yeah, right…_

Uncomfortable silence enveloped them. Both tried to ignore the tension that's beginning to boil in the room.

'It's his choice. I can't give him back the past. Hell, he killed mom and that didn't make him happy. What could I possibly do? He's such a—"

"They adored you."

Her father's clear voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up and saw him looking at her with a soft expression on his face.

"They adored you and Nadia. And you both adored them." Jack sighed and closed his eyes, finding a memory he could share freely. "I remember back then, they were barely a year old and you were twelve, I think. You tried to teach Nate and Iya to say mom and dad, but Nadia wanted them to stick to saying mama and papa."

He opened his eyes and smiled at Sydney.

"They found a way to please you both. Nate decided to use mama and daddy. Iya used the opposite of it, except she combined papa and daddy."

Her father's eyes are twinkling. Sydney noticed that every time he spoke of the past, another personality seem to emerge from him. And then everything, the smile, the expression on his face, will disappear.

"What did she call you?" Sydney asked softly. She doesn't want the smile to go away.

"She called me paddy."

A smile escaped her lips. "Paddy?"

_March 1988_

_Peals of a child's laughter echoed in the hallway. It came from the master's bedroom. He slowly walked towards it, curious on what his daughters were up to._

"_Say it again, Iya." He heard Nadia say._

"…_Paddy!"_

_He heard her giggle. When he stood by the door, he found Nadia and Sydney sitting on the floor, while the twins, Nathan and Sofya, are in their play pen. Their mother is on the bed, quietly watching their children._

"_Iya, its daddy. Or papa. Not… paddy." Sydney said. Her brown hair is tied in a braid and she is holding a piece of paper and a pen._

"_Syd, I like it." Nadia told her eldest sister. As soon as she said that, she saw her father standing by the door._

"_Papa!" She stood up and ran towards him. "Papa, we taught Nate and Iya to say things." She gleefully said, hugging her father's knees._

_Jack smiled at her and lifted her up. "What kind of things?" he asked after Nadia kissed him on the cheek. "Wow, Nadia is so heavy!"_

_His second daughter grinned at him. "Mama and papa. A-tually, I tried to teach them mama and papa. Syd tried mommy and daddy."_

_He glanced at Irina, who is smiling. She is so breathtaking, as always._

"_Did they learn how to say them?"_

_Nadia shook her head. The action made her black hair slightly cover her face._

"_Well, technically, they did." Sydney piped in. Jack smiled at her as he gently smoothed her sister's hair._

"_Really?"_

_Sydney nodded her head. "Nate…" She looked at her brother. Her brother smiled. Sydney motioned towards their father._

"_Daddy!" Nathan gleefully said. Sydney then motioned towards their mother. "Mama!"_

_The moment he heard his son call him, he felt a surge of fatherly pride. Jack slowly walked towards their bed, with Nadia in his arms. _

"_Wow. What about Iya?" he put down Nadia on the bed and proceeded to sit down next to Irina to give her a quick kiss on the lips. Their fingers touched and unconsciously interlocked._

_She smiled at him. "She found a nicer name for you." Turning to her youngest daughter, she said, "Isn't that right Iya?"_

_The little dark haired girl looked up to them and gave a big smile. "Mommy! Paddy!"_

_Jack laughed a bit. "Paddy?" He looked at Nadia, who was jumping on the bed and then to Sydney, who had a little frown on her face._

"_Sydney, why are you frowning?" Jack looked at Irina and he approached their eldest daughter and kissed her on the top of the forehead._

_Sydney just pouted. Jack smiled and patted her head. "How was the crossword puzzle I gave you?"_

"Dad?"

Jack looked at Sydney and gave her and even wider smile. "You didn't like it at first but Nadia found it pretty amusing."

A loud buzz suddenly rang throughout the room. They both looked at the surveillance and saw Vaughn standing by the gate, waiting for it to be opened.

"Vaughn's here." Jack said. The smile on his face is gone now, and is replaced by the stoic expression he had a while ago. He stood up from his chair and walked towards the control panel, punching in the code that will let Vaughn in.

"Dad?" Sydney said once again.

Jack looked at her.

"Thank you."

x-x-x

"Did you tell your dad about the dinner?" Vaughn asked as he and Sydney stepped out of their apartment. Their neighbors, the six college sophomores, invited them to have dinner at their place. Actually, they (Mr. and Mrs. Patterson) only met five of them: Eoclin Zagmun, Nasha Ysidro, Dylan Xavier, Guinevere Wellington and Deia Treadcliffe. Alexia Vadison was having a soccer practice when they were invited.

Vaughn had actually encountered her when he and Nadia planted the surveillance cameras in the apartment, but she was asleep. But then again, there is no need to tell her friends/roommates that.

"Yeah. He said that they'll be listening. You're wearing the… the bug?"

He nodded his head. The "bug" is one of the buttons of his red polo. He then offered his arm to her which she smilingly accepted. A couple of steps later, they arrived at the front door of their neighbors' apartment. Vaughn is holding a basket of flowers, a gift for the girls.

"What time is it?" Sydney asked as she fixed her earrings, her "bug".

"Seven fifteen…"

"_Boyscout, Phoenix, you are both online."_

"Thank you." Sydney said, both to Nadia and to Vaughn. They then looked at each other, and Vaughn, proceeded to ring the doorbell.

There was no answer.

He rang it again. After a few minutes, both heard footsteps coming their way. The door was swung open. A tall, raven haired, eyeglass-wearing girl stood in front of them. She was wearing an Arsenal jersey with matching shorts, and a pair of yellow flip flops. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she obviously came from a practice. Soccer practice.

"Yes, may I help you?" the British accent and the seriousness of her face did not betray her confusion.

Vaughn looked at her. "Oh, you must be… Lex? I'm Matthew and this is my wife, Daniela. We're your new neighbors. Your roommates invited us for dinner?" his tone was quite friendly and he flashed a friendly smile.

She stared at them. Vaughn can feel his blue contact lenses melting under her scrutiny. After a few seconds, she opened the door wider.

"Please, come in." She gave way and assisted them with the basket. "And yes, I am Lex. Lex Vadison."

Sydney smiled at her. The girl didn't smile back but just acknowledged her. Sydney looked at Vaughn, who gave a discreet shrug. They are both surprised with the seriousness of the teenage girl.

"Hey Lex!" Sydney recognized the voice belonging to Deia Treadcliffe. A few seconds later, the girl appeared right next to her friend.

"Oh, we are so sorry. Did our soccer manic pet scare you?" Deia asked. Her eyes are twinkling mischievously. Alexia, in turn, rolled her eyes and gave Deia a quick shove.

"It's nice to meet you, Matthew and Daniela." She looked at Deia. "Please remind Eoclin that I'm not staying for dessert."

Alexia then turned around and left them.

"I hope you weren't offended. She's just shy." Deia said, her smiling face was replaced by an apologizing look.

"It's okay. My mom's like that." Vaughn answered. He saw Sydney looked at him in the corner of her eyes. He just smiled. "Why is she not staying for dessert?"

"Oh, she's going to Italy to visit her mom. She visits her every second Friday of the month." She answered. "Come with me to the living room." Deia said and motioned them to come with her.

They went through the hallway, passing by the doorway to the kitchen before reaching the living room. The walls were painted faded yellow, while the things around the room were in the hues of baby blue and maroon. Despite the color combination, the whole area is very welcoming.

"Hello. How are you?" Nasha Ysidro is sitting in the middle of the sofa, reading a book. Her amethyst eyes are radiating with genuine welcome.

"We're fine. Thank you." Sydney answered, smiling. Deia motioned them to sit down and relax. A few minutes later, they were joined by Guinevere and Dylan. Alexia is in the shower.

"Have you met Lex?" Dylan asked, flexing her fingers.

"Yeah, they met her. She was uptight, as usual." Deia answered.

"Nah, she was okay." Sydney said. "Where is your chef roommate?"

Guinevere grinned. "In the kitchen. She refused to show herself until she has finished cooking." She smiled at their guests but everyone can see that there is worry in her eyes.

'Something is bothering her.' Sydney thought. Her gaze went to Dylan. Her eyes, the color of a lake on a beautiful day seems to be in pain. 'Something's bothering her too.'

The girls engaged them in small conversation, namely surfing (Matthew's sport), books (Daniela's a literature teacher) and music.

Their conversations were peppered with humorous one-liners but at the same time, one can't help but feel that these teenage girls are an intelligent and competitive bunch. Make them enemies with one another and then put them in one room and you'd probably get a massacre of some sort.

A few minutes later, Alexia, fresh from the shower, emerged from one of the rooms. Vaughn studied the floor plan of the apartment and he knew that the room that Alexia Vadison went out of, was not her room.

She plopped down the seat next to Dylan and gave her a small bottle. "It's for your aching fingers." She said and then looked at "Matthew" and "Daniela".

"So, how's your apartment?" Hazel eyes peered from her eyeglasses. There's not a smile present on her face and her tone seems really mocking.

"It's… its fine. We just have a lot of boxes to unpack."

"_Guys, there is another signal coming from inside the apartment. It's not one of ours."_

Vaughn discreetly looked Sydney. "Uh… may I use your bathroom?" he asked uncertainly.

Guinevere smiled at him and stood up. "Of course." Vaughn stood up and followed the girl. He can hear Sydney asking Alexia about her 'life' in school.

Vaughn went in the bathroom and locked it. He looked around and sat on the toilet seat.

"Where's the signal coming from?" he whispered.

"_It's upstairs, in the rooftop."_

"Weiss, can someone get to it? Can you trace where the signal's going?" While speaking on the com link, his eyes found a pail and a dipper on the bathtub. 'What's this doing here?'

"_Marshall's trying."_

"Okay. Tell us if you have anything. And check what time it started."

"Roger that."

Vaughn stood up and flushed. He turned on the water to the sink and looked in the mirror. He placed a thermal detector in this bathroom. Actually, they placed surveillance and night cameras in all the rooms and thermal detectors in the bathrooms. They intend to watch everything and everyone in this apartment.

He went out and found Nasha waiting for him. "Dinner is served."

x-x-x-

"Is someone tracking her?" Vaughn said as he closed the door of their apartment.

"_Yes. They'll be reporting in when they reach the airport."_

"Good, thanks." He sighed and walked towards the kitchen. He found Sydney sitting on the chair, a glass of water in front of her.

"I'm stuffed." She said. "Is someone following her?"

Vaughn nodded his head and sat down beside her. "They'll be checking in, in a few minutes."

Sydney sighed and stood up. "I'm going to change into more comfortable clothes." She smiled at him and then went out of the room.

x-x-x-

"_Someone placed bugs in the apartment."_

"Do you know who it is?" he unconsciously tapped the back of his cell phone with his finger.

"_I have an idea. But… what can I do?"_

"Just act normally. Don't do anything to arouse their suspicion, so that means you'll not use your computer there. Okay?" he heard a sigh on the other end of the line.

"_Yes. But they're looking at us. They will pin our crime on someone I'm living with."_

He involuntarily raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to frame your roommates?"

"_No."_

"Then be careful. We'll be ending this when we find what we want." He heard another sigh.

"_Okay. Goodbye."_


	7. seven

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, so bugger off. I will not sell them because first of all, they are not mine. Okay? Okay…

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

The heels of her boots clicked soundly on the cement floor as she walked on the dimly lit corridor.

Two guards flanked her, one on each side. They had been in their company once or twice during her visits and she hasn't seen them do anything but to accompany her to her destination.

They smell horrible. Her perfume couldn't cover the odious smell and Katya could barely keep herself from wrinkling her nose. 'Breathe through your mouth… or your ears.'

She's really relieved that she only encountered them once or twice.

After a few minutes of walking, they stopped in front of a huge steel door. One of the guards took a key from his pocket and opened it. Another corridor stood in front of them.

She bit back a sigh. She knows the procedure, but the damn thing is just too tedious.

Finally they reached a wooden door. Not at all formidable like the first one they encountered.

"You can come out anytime." This is the first time he spoke to her and she noticed a German accent with his words. He pushed the door open.

Katya looked at him. "Thank you." A seductive smile played on her lips. She's sure that he wouldn't be able to see it because of the darkness but she flashed it anyway.

She sauntered into the room and the door slammed shut behind her. The room was better lit than the hallway, but it's still dark. As her eyes got used to the intensity of the light, she felt the drabness and the coldness of the cell.

And then she saw her. Sitting in a corner, chained to the wall. Her head is down, as if she's asleep. Katya slowly walked towards her sister. She seems not to have heard the slamming of the door.

"I was wondering when you'd visit me again."

Her tone was quiet, but Katya clearly heard the contempt in her sister's voice. She wonders how Irina could muster up those feelings when she is clearly powerless, weak. She hasn't been eating and the beatings she went through weakened her even more.

She took a rickety chair and sat on it. It creaked a bit, but was still stable enough to sit on. She crossed her legs and leaned towards Irina.

"Hmm… I was sidetracked once again."

Irina slowly raised her head, revealing scratches on her face and a busted lip.

"Sidetracked? By whom? Jack?"

Katya shrugged. Her indifference masked her concern for her sister. Irina's thinner than before. If they keep this up, she'll most probably die.

"They said you should be healing." Katya said nonchalantly.

Her sister managed a smile. "They thought I should suffer first." She moved a bit, thus making her chains clash noisily. Pain flashes through her every time she moves but she needs to feel it. It's the only thing that tells her she's still alive.

Katya stared at her. Irina kept quiet. If she talks to Katya, she'll get hurt more. Physical pain is enough. God and prayers can't even help her with the pain. And Katya is certainly not an angel sent by God.

But she couldn't help herself.

"So, how was it?"

"How was what?"

"Jack. And sex."

Katya was taken aback. 'How the hell did she know that?' she waited a beat before answering.

"Well, it was good. Great, actually. But it was like f-cking my nephew. You were right. They do look alike."

She didn't miss the fiery, murderous glint in Irina's eyes after she said that. She expected it, actually. But she didn't expect that unadulterated hate that came with it. She didn't think Irina will have the strength.

'Katya, come on. This is the sister who can kill a live chicken with her bare hands in the middle of winter. What do you expect?'

She stood up from the chair and turned away from her sister. She can hear Irina's breath becoming labored. Irina's angry. And she thinks that she can control it through breathing.

"You can't control your anger that way, Irisha." She looked at her again. "They all think you're dead. Jack Bristow was the hardest one to convince. Now, they are all wrapped up in their little world that they will not be able to remember who you are and what you are to them. Give us what we want and I promise you, you will be eased off this pain."

And she left. Only the whiff of her perfume lingered.

'Six months. I have endured this hell for six months. And for them, I am dead. What's the use of protecting them if that's the case?'

Tears started to roll out of her eyes. If she gives them the location of the Decoder, she'll still put all of them in danger.

'Oh, God… help me.'

x-x-x-

The amphitheater-inspired classroom didn't dull his nervousness. He is a bit uneasy. His cover is to be a Physics teacher and he's going to be making an impression on students, those young minds. What if he teaches them wrong? This is first and only class for Mondays and this class, 201-A is supposedly the best one in the sophomore batch.

As he understood the school's set up, the students (the undergrads) are placed in sections mixed together even when they are from different courses. But they only meet each other during homeroom and some classes. In 201-A's case, they meet during Physics, Art Appreciation and Math.

Jack looked around as he fiddled with the pen cum surveillance camera. When he checked the names of his students, he found out that Vaughn and Sydney's targets are all in 201-A.

He sighed and placed the pen on the pencil holder. He went to the classroom too early. Jack fixed the papers on the table, the course outline and the overview of the lessons.

The door to the classroom opened. Jack looked at his watch. There are ten minutes left before the class bell rings. He looked up and saw a girl walking down the steps, reading a book and wearing earphones. A light blue backpack is slung on her shoulder and she is dressed simply, in jeans, a white top and a navy blue jacket. Her black hair is up in a ponytail and this kept it from covering her glasses, which are perched on her nose.

From Jack's position, he can see her holding an iPod in her left hand. She seems to be enjoying the music she's hearing since she's bobbing her head up and down. She also didn't seem to notice him.

He watched as she made her way toward the front row and sat on the desk in front of the teacher's table. He noticed the girl as Alexia Vadison.

'British, nineteen, raised practically by nannies. One brother who is studying in Harvard' Jack thought. He looked at his watch again. Still ten minutes before the first bell rings.

He took a chalk from the chalk box and stood up. He turned towards the blackboard and wrote his name.

MR. JAMES BRENNEN

"Good morning, Mr. Brennen." The voice clearly resonated in the room. The speaker has a pleasant voice. Her accent isn't as heavy as he expected.

Jack turned towards her and acted the way James Brennen would have acted. He smiled.

"Good morning, Ms. Vadison."

The girl cocked a brow, a bit surprised that he knows her. Mr. Brennen held up a folder and she realized that it was a seat plan. She took off the headphones from her ears and kept her book in her bag.

She looked at him interestingly. Actually, the glint in her eyes can be likened to a cat cornering a mouse in a corner. A predator cornering a prey.

'Why do I have the feeling she's the one we're looking for? But from what the surveillances have seen, she'll touch the computer when it's really, really important for her. Which is one in every one hundred assignments.' Jack thought. He can see the criss-crossed scar in her right jaw.

She stared at him. There is something familiar about his face.

"Is Mrs. Patterson, the Literature professor, a relative?" she asked, scrutinizing his face.

Jack is a bit taken aback at her observation. "Uh, yes. She's my daughter. Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "There's a resemblance."

Mr. Brennen looked at her and raised a brow. "Ms. Vadison, I had heard some stories about you. I expect that you'll be passing assignments in my subject. They will be your grade. If you fail to pass fifty percent of the works I'll be asking you to take home, you will most probably fail my class."

She gave him a small smile and raised a brow once again. He is the first teacher to tell her that.

"I'll try, Mr. Brennen."

The first bell rang. Their conversation was cut short.

Alexia fixed her things and readied her notebook and pen. She removed her bag from the aisle and waited for her classmates to come for class.

After a while, people started to stream in, chatting like birds. As the door close and the second bell rang, it was the signal for Jack to start.

"Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Mr. Brennen."

x-x-x-

Her students were still milling around when Sydney left the room. She's going to see how her father is doing in his first class since the Physics lecture room is only a short walk from hers.

When she reached the doorway, she found several girls hovering around the teacher's table, clustering around Jack. And he is clearly uncomfortable with the attention.

"Uh… ladies, I will not be able to give remedial sessions since this is the start of the semester. And besides, you all know that I am not a permanent teacher here."

"Yes, we know that sir. But we really suck in this subject." Sydney recognized the voice as Atessa, who also belongs in her class.

"We haven't started the lessons, ladies." Jack tried not to show his exasperation.

Sydney smiled as she went down the steps. The girls were more than half of the class but she counted them still. For every class has twenty two boys and twenty three girls. Forty five students, one teacher.

Ninety eight percent of the girls are smitten with her father.

Sydney found two girls immune to her father's irresistibility. Both are seated at the third aisle.

Her father hasn't seen her yet, so she decided to sit for a while and enjoy the show. She also wants to strike a conversation with the two girls.

She sat down in behind them and tapped both of them in the shoulder.

Alexia Vadison and Deia Treadcliffe faced her.

"How long have they been staring at him?" Sydney asked. Alexia shrugged and then looked at her watch.

"They've been staring at him for the last fifty five minutes, but questions about the tutorials started eight minutes ago."

Deia nodded her head. "I think Mr. Brennen is a bit afraid of the mob."

"Why aren't you with them?" she asked teasingly. Alexia made a face while Deia blushed.

"I can study on my own. And Deia's too shy to go with them." Alexia answered. "Actually, I don't see why you're shy. Eoclin, Dylan and Genny are there."

Jack saw Sydney sitting with Deia Treadcliffe and Alexia Vadison. He sighed in relief as he tried to go towards her. "Ladies, my daughter, Daniela Patterson. You've met her already in your literature class."

Almost all of the girls turned to look at her.

"Well then, we'd better be going for lunch." Jack said and gathered his things. Sydney had to stifle a giggle when her father took her wrist and almost dragged her out of the room.

"See you on Wednesday." Sydney said and disappeared from view.

A murmur went through the girls before they scattered around and left.

"You five are so pathetic."

Deia Treadcliffe, Guinevere Wellington, Dylan Xavier, Nasha Ysidro and Eoclin Zagmun looked at their friend with an eyebrow raised.

"Especially you, Eoclin. And you Genny. You're good in Physics and you're… pretending to be…" Alexia sighed "Never mind." She said and started to go up the steps.

"How can you say that? The man is gorgeous!"

Alexia wrinkled her nose. "Yes. But he's old. Deia seemed to be praying the rosary so that he'll look at her direction. Come on, people. You have suitors your own age!"

"Yes, he's old. But he's still… yummy. That's the appeal, girl!" Guinevere said.

"Wow, Mr. Brennen has an effect on you, Genny. Didn't you tell you us before that men are either bisexuals or homosexuals?" Nasha said as they walked towards Alexia.

"Haven't you heard of the expression, _there's always an exception to the rule_? He's the exception. And Mr. Patterson, of course."

Deia and Dylan laughed.

"Nash, Genny has a point." Eoclin ribbed Alexia. "Let's ask her why she doesn't find Mr. Brennen attractive."

"Alexia, why don't you find Mr. Brennen attractive?" Dylan asked.

"First of all, he's attractive if he's thirty years younger. Second, don't call me Alexia." She wrinkled her nose. "He just reminds me of… our butler back home."

Her friends laughed.

"Oh, god, Lex." Eoclin said, looking at Guinevere, who is laughing so hard.

"What's the name of your butler?" Nasha asked.

Alexia rolled her eyes. "Martin."

Dylan slapped her back. "I'm going to ask this for Genny. Is he gay, or bi?"

More laughter.

"He's neither. Are you coming or not? I'm hungry."

They went out of the room, laughing and talking. By the teacher's table, the pen slash surveillance camera recorded their conversation and will be watched and listened to by the CIA agents in LA.

x-x-x-

"So, how was your first day?" Vaughn asked Sydney and Jack as they sat down for lunch in the quadrangle. He is wearing a shirt that matches his blue contact lenses and casual trousers.

"I still have classes after lunch." Sydney said. Vaughn smiled at her and pulled out the chair for her.

"But it's fine. I think I saw the founding members of Dad's fan club."

Vaughn looked at Jack. "Really?"

Jack looked back at him. "That's because they don't know who James Brennen really is."

Sydney gave him a warning look when she saw his students pass them by. The students waved hi to them and she smiled. Jack just nodded, and went on to eat his sandwich.

"Are the surveillance online?" Jack asked in a low voice.

Vaughn nodded his head. "They went on after you went to school."

The chatter and the laughter of the students drifted to their ears as they ate their lunch. It was so surreal. College life is full of worries, stress and deadlines but the students still have fun. They have time to have fun. But the three of them… their job is to protect the country while at the same time pretending to be easygoing, fun loving teachers. Sometimes, it doesn't feel satisfying.

Jack noticed that Sydney and Vaughn's uneasiness are fading away; unlike the first time they went on mission pretending to be husband and wife. Oftentimes, genuine smiles are plastered on their faces.

_I'm happy for you…_

He looked at his watch and then turned to Sydney.

"Classes start in fifteen minutes."

Sydney looked at her watch and hurriedly stood up. "Oh, thanks for reminding me." She kissed her father and then Vaughn. "See you guys later."

The two of them watched her go. Vaughn then turned to Jack.

"Don't you have a class?"

Jack just looked at him. "I only have one class on Mondays." He answered and gave him a look that seemed to see his very soul.

The stare Jack is giving is unnerving Vaughn a bit. He flashes that stare once in while, but most of the time towards Sloane.

Vaughn cleared his throat and tried to ease the tension between them. "Uhh…"

He didn't get any reaction from Jack.

"Uhh… when will the Benson's be inviting you for dinner?"

TBC


	8. eight

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything except for the original ones, so please don't sue. Okay? Okay…

A/N-Not exactly beat-read. Hope you enjoy :D

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

Memories pass him by.

Images, faces… they all faded away.

They all left him. But he couldn't bring himself to forget them.

Those that did remain… those were the people he tried to forget.

In his head, they stayed. Waiting for their demise.

Experiences, deeds, people and sins. Those are the things that made him this way.

He couldn't blame them.

'Blame yourself…'

He began to throw away the images, away from his thoughts and his life.

A picture stayed.

An image of Benjamin Petersen. The tall, distinguished-looking, blond, blue eyed ex-marine. His friend. The friend he entrusted with the life of his twin children.

And he's dead. With them.

'Yes, but you didn't find their bodies…'

Darkness began to pull him in. He didn't try to fight it. He's good as dead, anyway.

But a shrill ringing interrupted his thought. Something shrill, ringing in his ears.

An insistent, annoying ring.

_Asking him to come back._

Jack Bristow opened his eyes and immediately caught himself from falling down the bed. The loud ringing was his alarm clock and it succeeded in bringing him back to the land of the living. Awake and living people, that is.

He stood up and stretched. This time, he's going to catch Pitte Benson going to school. They will have a conversation not less than thirty seconds. He will be able to put a bug in his shoes. They will be able to monitor his whereabouts without worrying of him eluding the tails.

'The schedule of that man is so erratic.' Jack thought as he walked in the bathroom. He took a quick shower before brushing his teeth and putting on his earpiece.

He stepped out and dressed up quickly. He took a look out the window and saw his targets, having breakfast in the patio. Actually, it was Elaine Benson who is having breakfast. Pitte Benson is having his coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Call the kids, honey. I'll be leaving in a few minutes."

Jack sped up after reading the man's lips. He wants to get this mission done and over with. He couldn't bear hearing Nadia's cheerful voice every morning. It reminds him too much of his failure as her father. And he's being derived of his sleep.

"_Good morning." _Nadia chirped in, in his earpiece.

He bit back a sigh. "I'm leaving for school." He hurriedly put on his socks and shoes.

"_Coffee will be ready in three minutes."_

x-x-x-

The sun has just set when Nadia stepped out of the car. The air is warm and she's grateful that she had thought of wearing light clothing. She hurriedly walked towards the warehouse since she parked a few blocks away from where their meeting is going to take place.

She looked around discreetly. She doesn't want anyone from where she and Weiss are monitoring everything for the mission accidentally see them.

The gravel crumbled beneath her shoes. 'These CIA warehouses are so poorly maintained' Nadia thought as she walked towards the entrance, hidden from view.

She punched in the code before her irises were scanned. After the procedure, the door opened.

Nadia strolled in and went directly to the far end of the warehouse. There stood a door. She opened it and a blast of cold air welcomed her.

In the middle of the room, she saw Jack Bristow sitting on the sofa, reading several papers. Eyeglasses perched his aristocratic nose and his forehead speaks of great concentration.

Quietly she closed the door and took a seat adjacent to him. In her position, she could see that he's reading students' records.

"Where are Sydney, Weiss and Vaughn?"

She was startled a bit. She didn't expect him to take notice of her.

"Uh… they're on their way. I guess."

Nadia stiffly sat on the couch. She always felt uncomfortable when he's present in the room but together with that unease is a feeling of safety. She also felt drawn to him and she couldn't understand why. His eyes are also very familiar.

'I wonder what he looks like when he's smiling.'

She discreetly stared at him. Sydney has his nose and jaw. That's the only thing she could see of Sydney in his face.

'What did Irina Derevko see in my father that she hasn't seen in Jack Bristow?' Clearly, her father has a quality that Jack doesn't possess since she "strayed" away.

Nadia sighed and leaned back on the couch. She doesn't really get a lot of answers from her father when she asks a question about her mother. He always tells her to ask Jack. But he refuses to answer any of them directly.

'They are so frustrating.'

She looked at her watch and sighed again. 'Those three are going to be late.'

The moment the thought crossed her mind, the door opened.

"I'm sorry, there was traffic…" Vaughn said as he, Sydney and Weiss entered the room.

Sydney took a glance at her father before she sat beside Nadia.

"Hey. I didn't see your car." She said, a bit breathless.

"I parked a few blocks from here." Nadia answered smiling at her sister. Finally, someone she can talk to.

Jack set down the folders after taking off his glasses. "Sloane is asking about our progress. He thought that it would be best if he were to talk to us." He took the remote control by his side and turned on the flat screen television in front of them. None of the three agents saw that TV.

Arvin Sloane suddenly appeared on the screen.

"Good evening. I am happy to see all of you again. Especially you, Nadia."

That made Nadia smile. Her father is so sweet sometimes.

Sydney saw her father's eyes sharpen a bit. He's obviously irritated with Sloane's fatherly attitude towards Nadia.

'His problem again. If he doesn't want to tell Nadia, fine. Let him suffer silently as Sloane usurp his role.'

Nadia focused on the screen. Her father… Sloane is talking about Marshall's current findings about their hackers and how they are wreaking havoc once again with the Agency's computers.

"They are a threat to National Security…"

Her thoughts drifted away. 'Yes, but why us? Isn't this the job of the FBI?' her eyes wandered across the room. Sydney has a slight look of contempt on her face. She always see that when they talk to Sloane. But her contempt for Sloane helps her in her work. So maybe her father's past misdeeds fuel her to do good.

Weiss and Vaughn are listening intently to Sloane but they also seem to be thinking of something else. When her eyes rested on Nadia, she felt… safe.

'Weird.'

A scene flashed in her head. A dream she used to have when she was a child. She was playing with a girl several years older than her and a pregnant woman. In her dream, it was her sister and her mother. They were playing puzzles and her hand was always on top of her mother's swollen belly.

_They heard the front door open. Her mother's eyes flash in surprise and then happiness._

"_Your father's here."_

_Nadia could sense her mother's excitement. She's excited too. She hasn't seen her father in a week._

"_Come Nadia, let's greet daddy." Her sister said and ran out._

_She scrambled up and followed her sister to the hallway. She saw her father kissing her sister's cheek. When he saw her, he smiled even wider._

"_Papa!"_

"_Hello, my little girl."_

Her eyes widened.

'No, impossible!'

She looked at Jack once again. 'No… it's just… it's just a product of my twisted imagination.'

"Are you okay?" the tone was only loud enough for her to hear. It was Sydney.

Nadia looked at her. "Uh, yeah. Just thinking."

Sydney looked at her for a few seconds before asking. "Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine. No need to worry." Nadia answered, lying.

Her sister shrugged and then resumed her attention back to the screen. Marshall is already talking. Something about cold fusion and fishes.

'I wonder how that's related to Angel and Athena.'

The humorous thought was banished when she saw Jack again.

'Impossible…'

Their eyes met. Nadia felt goose bumps prickle her skin. His eyes lingered on hers for a few minutes before he interrupted Marshall's ramblings.

"Marshall, how exactly are cold fusion and fishes related to Angel and Athena?"

Marshall was startled a bit. "Oh… well, you see…"


	9. nine

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, except for the original ones. Please don't sue because you will get it. I tell you, you WILL GET IT. Heh just kidding. :D

**CHAPTER NINE**

Two cars raced each other towards the finish line. Winner takes all. Of course, the loser's going to pay what the winner will take.

One of the cars slammed into the concrete wall and overturned, giving his opponent a chance to take the lead.

After a few seconds, the word WINNER flashed on the screen.

"YES! YES! I. BEAT. YOU! YEEESSSSS!"

The young man of about twenty years old stood up and danced a victory dance in front of the flat screen television and hopped around the PlayStation 2.

"I beat you. Pay up!"

His friend, who is almost the same age as he, chuckled and took his wallet from his pocket. "Wow, Truman, this is the first time you actually won." He grinned at him and handed him fifty dollars. "Here, I'm giving back your fifty from my past wins."

"At least I still won."

"It's just a fluke, Truman. I won thirty games, you won only one."

"No, it's not Premenov. Do you want another round?"

A ringing cell phone interrupted them.

"Excuse me." Mikhail Premenov stood up as he took the phone from his other pocket. He went to a corner and took the call.

"Premenov."

"_Hey, it's me."_

"Hey." He greeted after recognizing the voice.

"_I have a verified location."_

That took him by surprise. "Really, where did you find it?"

"_CIA Database."_

"Oh…" he looked at Truman and motioned him to wait for a while. "Anything to work on?"

"_Yes, I'm currently working on it. I'll be executing phase two after I send the plans to you."_

"You do that. Thank you. Call soon." He ended the call. Mikhail Premenov then turned to his friend. "Are you sure you want a rematch, Truman?"

"Hell yeah. I bet you a hundred bucks?"

He smiled. "I don't care. I have cash to spare."

They raced again. Beads of sweat formed in their foreheads as they tried to outrun each other. But like all games, only one will emerge a winner.

"I told you that win was a fluke…"

x-x-x-

Jack went out of the house to bring out the garbage. He had a long day. His students have good papers, pass perfect assignments and have good scores in his first few quizzes. But they seem to falter when it comes to class discussions.

'A case of cheating?' he thought as he walked down the lawn. Actually, they seem to be uncertain whether they should answer his questions or not.

'Are they intimidated?' he asked himself. Physics is an intimidating subject. And he doesn't really know how he came to understand this subject himself.

He sighed. Being a teacher is hard. Good thing he's into this occupation for less than a month.

"Mr. Brennen!"

Jack looked towards the direction of the voice and found Roan Benson running towards his direction. A young girl followed him.

"Hello, Roan." Jack greeted in his James Brennen voice. "And who is the pretty girl behind you?"

Roan grinned and motioned for the girl to come beside him. "This is my sister, Bridgitte. But call her Hanna."

Jack raised a brow. "Her name is Bridgette but I'll call her Hanna?" The girl has light brown hair like her brother but has a pair of sparkling blue eyes.

Roan grinned. Bridgette shyly smiled at him.

"My whole name is Bridgette Yohanna. My nickname is Hanna."

Jack nodded his head in understanding. "Oh… and how old are you, Hanna?"

"I'm eleven."

He looked at Roan, a bit inquiringly. Roan smiled even wider.

"We're twins." He fidgeted for a bit. "But we have older brothers. Dan and Yuan. Dan is much, much older but Yuan is thirteen."

Jack smiled a bit. He knows about Yuan, but who is Dan? There was no Dan indicated in the Benson's files.

"Did mom invite you for dinner already? I know it's not tonight 'cos dad's not here." Roan asked when Jack placed his plastic of garbage in the can.

The comment caught Jack's attention. "Your dad's not here? I saw him in school this morning."

Roan and Hanna both shook their heads. "Yes, but daddy left this afternoon. He had some meeting for the school." Hanna said. She looked around and saw that their car is pulling up the driveway.

"Roan, mom's home." She whispered. Roan looked at Jack. A little frown is in his face.

"Uh… we have to go. Mom told us not to bother the neighbors because it's nearing dinnertime. Bye, Mr. Brennen."

"Bye, Mr. Brennen" Hanna repeated and they ran towards the back door of their house.

Jack just looked at the backs of the children. Their father, one of their targets, is not home. It's not in any of their schedules. As far as he knows, the agents that were assigned to track his whereabouts out of the school and his home have not reported anything.

He hurried back towards his house.

x-x-x-

Weiss turned on the audio of the surveillance videos. It's nearing dinnertime and the six college girls are preparing their meal.

Well, it's more like Eoclin preparing the meal while the rest of the girls are locked out of the kitchen.

"_Genny, get down from that table! And turn down that damn television."_

Weiss watched amusedly as Deia Treadcliffe tried to persuade the youngest member of the group to settle down. Guinevere is dancing to the tune of Christina Aguilera's "Dirty"

"_Help me here, please!" she called out to the others._

_Lex, Nasha and Dylan appeared next to her._

"_Genny, are you coffee?" Lex asked. _

"_No." Guinevere gave her a confused smile_

"_Are you a good coffee book table?" Nasha inquired._

"_Uh… no." Guinevere stopped dancing a bit._

"_Then why are you on top of that table?" Dylan raised a brow. _

He smiled when the she jumped off the table. These girls have some kind of control over another. Nasha, Lex and Dylan can stop Guinevere's childishness. Eoclin and Nasha can ask Lex not to curse out loud too much. Guinevere and Lex remind Deia and Nasha to loosen up a bit while Deia and Eoclin can tell Dylan that she's too bitchy already.

Weiss sighed. Sometimes, he feels so much like a pervert for watching the girls' daily activities.

The door to the room opened. He looked behind him and found Nadia walking towards him.

"Hey, how was tailing Elaine Benson?"

She shrugged. "It was fine. She just went to the drugstore to buy vitamins for her children." She took a seat beside him. "Jack called."

"No, he didn't."

Nadia shook her head. "No, what I meant was Jack called. Did anyone report that Pitte Benson has eluded his tail?" she didn't tell Weiss about her strange recollection. He might think that the mission is getting to her nerves. She does talk to Jack every morning. And that might be the reason for those dreams.

"He's still in school."

"But his kids said that he left this afternoon."

Weiss looked at her, confused. He took one of the phones in front of him and called one of the agents assigned to follow Pitte Benson.

"What do you mean, he's not there!"

Nadia looked at Weiss. She then looked at the papers, the schedules of their targets, in front of them. She began to look for Benson's schedule and found that he was supposed to be in a luncheon hosted by UCLA tomorrow.

She took her cell phone and called UCLA. "Yes, this is Marie, secretary of Mr. Herman. May I just confirm if Mr. Pitte Benson is included in your roster for tomorrow's luncheon?" she put her Argentinean accent in good use.

She glanced at Weiss when she got an answer.

"Oh, is that so? Thank you."

Weiss looked at her expectantly. "Is he there?"

She shook her head. "He backed out the last minute. He said its family emergency."

Both then scrambled to get to the phones. They need to contact all the agents positioned in the airports. If he's going out of the country…

Weiss slammed the phone on its cradle.

"Damn it, they haven't seen him anywhere!"

x-x-x-

"_Did you get the plans?"_

"Oh, yes. Thank you. I refined it a bit, but you'll still have the credit." Mikhail answered, a bit teasingly as he smoothed the blueprints on his table.

"_When will we execute this?"_

He leaned back on his chair. "I don't know. We still need arms and reinforcements-"

"_But your minions are ready?"_

He smiled. "Yes, my minions are ready. Transportation and equipments are ready. I'll just call you."

"_Good. Because if you don't include me in this, I'll kill you."_

Mikhail laughed as the line went dead. Athena has a really weird sense of humor.

x-x-x-

"I can't see why we need to send Sark for this."

Dixon studied Sloane's face. They all know Sark cannot be trusted, but here he is, suggesting that they use Sark to entrap Mikhail Premenov. He has a feeling that Sloane is going to manipulate them again and rebuild his empire of evil.

'Stop thinking about that, Marcus. Sloane just wants to use Sark for his quest for Rambaldi again.'

Sloane directly looked into Dixon's eyes. "The CIA has interrogated him once again. We learned that Mr. Sark knows Mikhail Premenov **and** knows how to contact him."

"Why can't we just ask how to contact him and then send men to capture Premenov?"

Sloane clasped his hands together. "And risk them all being killed? Premenov is a ruthless man. Fifteen people died because of his anger. As Mr. Sark recounted, he once broke a man's legs for failing to do something his bidding."

He took his glass and took a sip of water. "If he finds out that he was duped, he will kill everyone who was sent to capture him. Please tell me that, what you're suggesting is not a suicide mission."

Dixon sighed. Sloane has a point. If they send a team of about four or five men, they will most probably killed by Premenov. But if they send Sark…

"Sark escaped CIA custody once. He can do it again." Dixon said after a few minutes, accepting Sloane's plan of using Julian Sark as bait.

"It won't happen. I have-"

The door to the conference room burst open. Marshall ran inside, out of breath and quite disheveled.

"Mr. Sloane, sir…" Marshall said, gasping for breath. He went towards Sloane. "Our computers…"

"Our computers are what? Marshall, calm down."

"A virus is corrupting our database. I can't… can't stop it."


	10. ten

**CHAPTER TEN**

"What do you mean you can't stop it?"

Marshall's face is much panicked. "I just came in to tell you."

Sloane and Dixon could only watch as Marshall ran out of the room, mumbling hysterically about the future of their database.

Both men followed him out. Everyone was looking at Marshall, who left a trail of papers in his wake.

"People, calm down. Everything's going to be alright." Sloane reassured them, as everyone in the office seemed to have figured out they were being attacked. By what or who, that they don't know. But Sloane is pretty sure that it's Angel and Athena.

Sloane and Dixon went to Marshall's office and found him furiously typing on the computer, trying to prevent the virus from completing its job. From where they are standing, they could see that their resident genius is profusely sweating from the stress.

"Marshall, calm down." Sloane said. He ordered Dixon to call Director Chase for additional instructions.

"Mr. Sloane, this virus… if I can't stop this… APO will be screwed."

Sloane raised a brow. He hasn't heard Marshall speak like that before.

Minutes ticked by so fast, he didn't realize that he has been standing in Marshall's office for about an hour.

"Director Chase instructed that our backup files be uploaded in the main database of the CIA." Dixon whispered to Sloane when he arrived. It took Director Chase almost an hour to instruct him on what to do. Obviously, they were all unnerved with what Angel and Athena can do.

Suddenly, a loud beeping noise was heard. It was followed by a cartoon-like evil laugh. The words "GOTCHA" appeared on the screen.

Marshall felt confusion overcoming him. He hurriedly checked all their files.

They were all there, safe. They weren't touched by the virus at all.

"It's… they're fine."

Sloane approached him. "Marshall, what is it?" Their tech kept quiet for a while, inspecting their database. Inspecting every data in their computers.

"There was no virus. It was a trick…" he trailed off. "It was to get our attention… but…"

Sloane placed a hand on Marshall's shoulder. "Marshall, did you stop it?"

He faced his boss, really confused. "There was no virus to begin with."

"No virus?" Dixon walked towards them. "Are you sure?"

"There's no virus. I mean, the files weren't even touched. They used a… I don't know, but it simulated what we see onscreen of computers when a virus is corrupting a huge bulk of data."

Another beeping sound. Marshall pushed his chair and rolled towards another computer, where he sends and receives emails.

The clicking of the keyboards was the only sound in the room. Both Sloane and Dixon are waiting for Marshall to finish.

Marshall opened the file sent to him. He has no idea who sent it.

'Marshall, if this turns out to be the real attack…'

He clicked on the attachment. A video started to play.

"Uh, sir…?"

Marshall could hardly believe with what was in the video. It could be some sort of snuff film. But one could clearly see that it is a direct feed. His computer is automatically recording the video too.

"What is it Marshall?" He approached the desk and looked at the screen.

"It's Irina Derevko. She's… alive."

x-x-x-

"Alive?"

The five agents looked at him as if he grew two heads. He nods his head and leans on his chair.

_"Yes, Irina Derevko is alive, but not well." Sloane couldn't scrutinize the faces of the agents since he is talking to them through a monitor. But he can easily identify shock in their faces. Especially Sydney and Nadia._

"But I… she's dead!" Nadia turned to Sydney. "You lied to me! You told me she was dead."

She is clearly distressed. A few weeks ago, she and Sydney were flying to Moscow to visit their mother's grave, the next thing she knows, she's alive. Like some sort of monster coming back to life.

"I didn't lie to you." Sydney replied, defensively. "Dad told me that she's dead." She looked at her father. Her eyes are blazing in anger.

_"People settle down. There is more to this issue." Sloane interjected. "Marshall received a live feed after Angel and Athena's assault-"_

"Attacked? Angel and Athena attacked our computers?" Vaughn interrupted. "When?"

_"Yesterday-"_

Vaughn cut in again. "And you're telling us this now!"

_"Agent Vaughn, it was a ruse to get our attention. Nothing was destroyed. They wanted to inform us that Irina Derevko is alive." Sloane took the glass of water on his desk. "The video sent was their proof, although we did tests to make sure that it was her. The video also showed us something that can lead us to her."_

Sloane pressed a key on his computer. A few seconds later, the printer in the warehouse in San Francisco printed three pages of documents.

_"Boris Yulochev. He was once part of the KGB, once a member of the K-Directorate and currently a member of the Cadmus Liberation Front." He sipped his water and waited for Jack to say something. He hasn't spoken a word ever since he revealed that Irina is alive._

"The Covenant has Irina Derevko?" Weiss commented. "Are we sure on this?"

_Sloane nodded his head. "Currently, we have men tracking Yulochev down."_

Jack looked at the flat screen monitor in front of him. "What was in the video?"

He could see that Sloane is a bit apprehensive in answering his question. Sydney looked at her father once again. His face is expressionless. The surprised he showed a few minutes ago is masked with indifference.

_"Things." He answered, clasping his hands together._

Sydney saw the discomfort through his actions. 'Did the video made him uncomfortable?'

"What kind of things?" Vaughn asked.

Sloane let out a deep breath. How can he end this meeting without showing the proof that Irina is alive? The video rattled Marshall, it shocked Dixon. What more to Sydney and Nadia?

_"It's a surveillance video." He said. "I've assigned several men to track down Yulochev. Dixon is currently arranging for the temporary release of our bait for Mikhail Premenov." He glanced at the monitor. Sydney and Nadia are stoically staring at him, though he could sense their anger even from where he is. Jack's face is expressionless, as usual and the only people in the room showing emotions are Vaughn and Weiss._

"A bait for Mikhail Premenov? What is he-" Weiss was cut off by Sydney.

"I want to see it."

_A grim smile appeared on Sloane's face. "It will be… pointless for you to see it."_

This remark made Sydney raise a brow. "Pointless? What's so pointless about wanting to see it?"

_"We've already identified Derevko. It's pointless for you to-"_

"I'm not the only one who wants that surveillance video."

Sloane sighed at the stubbornness of Sydney Bristow. He looked at them. They are all expecting an answer and they're not going to accept a no. Well, except for Jack.

He typed something on the computer. A few minutes later, the image on the screen changed to a grainy black and white. Two figures are on the screen. A woman, chained to the wall, and a man walking round her.

_"Where is it?"_

_"I don't know."_

Everyone (except Nadia) recognized the second vice. It is no doubt Irina's.

_"We know you know. We know what it is. We just don't know where. But you do know, right?"_

_A pause._

_"No."_

They heard the sound of whip lashing. The video was too grainy for them to see where it hit but when they heard it again, they were sure that the whip lashed flesh.

_"You're going to get more, Irina."_

_She kept quiet, still as stone._

_"I'm going to ask you one more time. Where is it?"_

_He didn't wait for her answer and instead hit her again. Stroke after stroke, he shouted at her, demanding an answer to his question. She screamed in pain, her only answer to his question. That angered him more. He hit her harder._

The five CIA agents could only stare at the screen. Tears are streaming Sydney's eyes. She has never seen such brutality exerted on a human being. And now she has seen it, thanks to her stubbornness in asking Sloane to show it to her. To them.

She looked at Nadia. Her sister's face is pale and fear is traced on her face.

'That's my mom? What… why?' Nadia looked at Sydney's way. She's crying. She then looked at Jack. His face is stoic, serious but his hands are clenched.

'He cares for her still?'

Nadia couldn't bear to look at the screen. She couldn't take it. The woman being whipped is her mother. She's being tortured in front of her and she's not doing anything.

Sydney suddenly stood up and cried as she left the room. Vaughn followed her out immediately.

After a few minutes, the video stopped. Sloane reappeared on the screen.

"We're still tracing the source of the transmission. We'll contact all of you again." He said and ended the meeting. He was too abrupt. He didn't want to face everyone, especially Nadia, after he showed them that.

Jack looked at the remaining agents, Nadia and Weiss.

"We'd meet later, maybe after dinner. Knowing Marshall…" He trailed off when he saw Nadia angrily staring at him. "I suggest that we all put this at the back of our head so that we'll be able to finish this mission."

"You really hate her, do you?" Nadia could barely hide the angry tone. "After you've seen her being tortured, after you saw Sydney cry, you're still approaching this as something trivial… like a crease in your suit."

Nadia stood up. "I'm so glad you're not my father." And then, she stormed out of the room. Jack just blinked with her comments but the last part hurt him a bit.

Weiss looked at him, uncomfortable that he's the only left with him.

A few minutes later, he stood up and left too.

Jack could only sigh. Finally, he relaxed his clenched fingers. A ball of crumpled paper rolled out of his hands. He could only wish that the pieces of paper that was Boris Yulochev. He wants to kill him with his bare hands. He wants to make him suffer for what he has done.

But he knows that it's futile to get angry. They don't have any leads on Irina's location yet. And as far as the espionage world knows, she's dead. His contacts wouldn't be able to help him.

He stood up and left. He still has papers to check.

x-x-x-

(Almost two years ago, Prague)

Another argument, another fight. He can't believe that every time they take a step forward, a misunderstanding ensues and they take two steps back.

"Stubborn woman." Jack muttered under his breath as he assembled the silenced sniper that he will use to 'kill' Irina.

'Let's hope she's the good actress I always thought and accuse her to be.' He finalized all the things needed and waited. A glance at his watch told him that their 'show' is about to start.

He is on top of one of the buildings, fronting the hotel where Irina is staying. The CIA is expecting that he'll finish the job he asked for as cleanly as possible. They didn't know that they will be led into deception, again.

The CIA has been re-interpreting Rambaldi's prophecies, and all the interpretation says of the destruction of the earth. Irina told him that they're wrong and she showed him proof. Deciding to stage Irina's death is helpful because it will rid them of CIA's threat to her. She can also help in protecting Sydney. And Nadia.

'I wonder who's analyzing Irina's manuscripts…'

For this death, they planned on using real bullets but they settled with using blanks. It will hurt but it won't really kill.

He looked at the scope and found her sitting on the chair, the way they planned it. She's wearing a blue blouse and black slacks. Strands of hair are framing her face and she seems bored. As she pushed her hair away from her face, he saw diamonds sparkling in her wrist.

'Diamond bracelet… dying in style.' He thought, a bit amused. His finger hovered in the trigger. His heart is beating so hard that it's distracting him.

Sweat began to trickle down his back. Timing is critical. He doesn't want to make her blind, does he?

Seconds passed. Jack squeezed the trigger.

x0x-x0x-x0x-

(A couple of hours later)

"Are you okay?" Jack called out as he fixed the food on the table. He placed the shrimp dumplings on the bowl, the fried rice on the other and the egg rolls on the plate.

"I have a brig bruise in my head, but overall, I'm fine."

He went to the kitchen and took an ice pack from the fridge. They are in his safe house in Prague. Their performance is finished and the CIA enjoyed it. He had made them believe Irina is dead. Currently, they think that he's now burying her.

"Irina?" he entered the bedroom. She's not there.

"In the bathroom."

Jack knocked first before entering. He found Irina, covered only by a towel, blow drying her hair.

"Uh, for your bruise." He looked at her in the mirror as he showed her the ice pack.

Tense silence followed. They haven't resolved anything from that fight.

Irina glanced at him and then at his hands. "Thank you."

His eyes saw that, together with her bruised left temple, her left eye is swollen.

"I didn't hit your eye… did I?" Jack asked, alarmed. He approached her and gently touched the bruised part.

"No… I hit the glass table when I fell down. The medicine you gave me delayed the swelling, I guess." She winced when his fingers probed a painful spot. She turned off the hair dryer and faced him.

"You have a wound." A cut is visible above her left eyebrow.

He opened the medicine cabinet and took the first aid kit. Why didn't he notice it before?

'Must be because of all that fake blood I sprayed on her.'

Irina sighed, a bit desperate to turn the attention away from her. "Jack, I'm fine."

"Just be still. I'll be done in less than a minute."

His soul returns to him every time he's with her. Every time they talk, eat and sleep together, every time they fight and argue and then make up… he lets go a part of him. Yes, they had a past to mend and secrets to still reveal but they can go past that. He stopped thinking of her as Laura. For one thing, there was no Laura to begin with. And contrary to Sydney's belief, Laura ceased to exist after the first year of her parents' marriage.

They flirted with different alliances in the past thirty years and it always ended with Jack on the CIA's side and Irina on the other end of the spectrum.

"Are you done?" Irina asked impatiently.

Jack smoothed the bandage and set the scissors aside.

"Yeah, all done."

Irina looked at him in the eye. "Thank you." She took a deep breath. Their recent fight was her fault. He asked her a simple question, something from the past. She refused to answer, fearing that it might lead to questions about the twins. It took a few minutes baiting before the question and answer became a heated argument. Patience in debates is never their forte.

Should she apologize?

"Uh, I…" Irina trailed off. Jack raised a brow. Maybe later. "I need to get dressed."

Jack actually thought that she was going to apologize. He shrugged and turned to leave the bathroom. "Dinner's going to get cold."

Irina has a hard time apologizing to people. Even before.

He was on his way out the bedroom when Irina called him. He turned around and saw her standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry. For… shouting at you."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a deep and sincere kiss.

x0x-x0x-x0x-

She snuggled closer to the warmth of his skin as the feeling of safety encapsulated her. He's the only person who can lull her to a deep sleep and no one else.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as her eyelids fluttered close.

"You're not hungry?"

He slowly caressed her back. It pleased him to hear her purr when he touched a very sensitive part on her back.

"Dinner's cold." Her spine tingled when his fingers brushed up to her neck.

"I do have a microwave oven, you know."

Irina moved slightly and her breast rubbed against his chest. He groaned in pleasure and pulled her closer. When he did, he felt the scratches on his back, courtesy of Irina's nails.

He felt her lips on his shoulder. "I bit you."

"Well, I bit you too." He lowered his head and trailed soft kisses on her neck and on her shoulders. "I bit you here." He planted a kiss on a bite mark. "And here… and here…"

Jack rolled Irina on her back and started to brush his lips across her chest.

"I thought you're hungry." Irina laughingly teased and stroked his hair.

He crawled on top of her and kissed Irina on the lips. "Do you want to eat?" Jack asked after a few minutes.

She brushed away the hair on his face. "Yes." She replied and smiled at him.

He kissed her again and then rolled off the bed. He took one of the terry bathrobes and handed Irina the other.

She pursed her lips when she received the article of clothing.

"You're going to help in the reheating, dear."

She put on the robe and climbed out of the bed. "You want help in nuking food?"

Jack raised a brow, noting her use of the word 'nuke'. He once heard teenagers use it. He smiled at her. "Well, I want you with me. Is there something wrong with that?"


	11. eleven

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, except for the original ones, so please don't sue. You don't know what you're going to get into…:D

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"Eoclin, stop nagging your manager." Dylan said as she pulled her friend out from the Zagmun's San Francisco restaurant. "It will not burn to the ground when you're gone for an hour or so."

"You know, you keep saying that every Friday." Nasha closed the door and followed Dylan and Eoclin to the bus stop. Her yellow skirt flowed freely with her movements.

Dylan rolled her eyes. "Our OCD inflicted friend never fails to do this drama every Friday."

"You know, your fingers are going to get cramps if you continue gripping my arm like that." Eoclin tried to pry out her friend's fingers but failed. It only eased when they got on the bus.

"Good bye, little restaurant. Mommy's going to come back in a few hours." Eoclin blew a kiss to the establishment as they passed by it.

Nasha nudged her friend. People are staring at them.

"See, Nash? She does that every Friday and the people never fail to look at her like she's some sort of crazy French woman."

Nasha giggled and gently slapped Dylan's arm. "You're so mean." But this only led to Eoclin grinning at them like a crazy French woman.

"Dylan, you are watching too much TV."

Laughter erupted. The girls are now in their own world.

A few feet away from them, a salesman took his cell phone and called his "bosses".

"Following the three ladies, will be checking in three."

"_Roger that."_

_-x-x-x- _

"I can't believe he lied about that. I mean… come on!"

Vaughn looked up from the menu. Sydney has set down hers and looking at him. He can feel her irritation and her disbelief.

"I don't think he knew about it."

Sydney stared at him. "He lied, Vaughn. Even the CIA lied about her."

"What do you expect? He's your father. He didn't want you to lose your focus especially when it can get you killed."

"Vaughn." She put a stress on his name. "The CIA lied about it too. The documents clearly said that the CIA allowed my father to kill her. Dad killed her. Why is she alive now?" she hissed, realizing that they are in a public place.

He sighed. "Do you want her dead?" he knows that the woman they are referring to is the woman who killed his father. But after he saw that surveillance footage… he wouldn't want anyone to go through that.

"Of course not." Sydney frowned.

The waiter walked towards their table and took their orders.

"The ladies are in the building. Feeding the bug…"

Sydney and Vaughn are inside the restaurants where their targets are going to eat for lunch. It turns out that every Friday, all of these girls either have a free schedule in the afternoon or have two hours of free time after lunch. They decided not to eat in any Zagmun owned establishment since it makes Eoclin very jittery.

"_So, Genny. When will your cute brother come for a visit?" Nasha asked after they ordered their lunch._

"_Tomorrow."_

"_You know, I think he likes you."_

_Deia looked at Nasha, disgusted. "Eew? Incest?"_

_Guinevere laughed. "It's okay, Deia. We're both adopted." She rubbed her friend's arms affectionately. "I like him too. But since we grew up together, I think it's pretty disgusting too."_

Vaughn shook his head. "They always seem to be talking about boys every time they eat."

Sydney gave him a small smile. He can see that she's still bothered about her father's deceit.

He took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. A much more heartfelt smile appeared on her face.

"_I think Mr. Brennen is gorgeous." Guinevere said. Everyone in the table, except for Alexia, nodded their head in agreement._

"_You've said that fifty times already." Alexia sighed. "Actually, you say that every time we eat. I'm not going to be converted into a James Brennen groupie, Guinevere."_

_Guinevere grinned when she heard Alexia say her whole name. She only does that when she's slightly irritated._

"_When I turn eighteen, I'll ask him to marry me."_

_Everyone at the table snorted._

"_But if he refuses, there's always Phil."_

Vaughn looked at Sydney again. She is smiling and very amused with the girls' admiration with Jack Bristow. If she has a chance, she'll ask her father to listen to one of the audio surveillances one day.

"_Phil? Who's Phil?" Dylan asked, confused._

_Eoclin smiled. "Philipp. Lex's gorgeous brother."_

"_You know, Genny. If you're going to propose marriage to my brother, don't call him Phil." Lex calmly said._

"_Why not?"_

_She pursed her lips. "Well, according to him, it sounds… pedestrian."_

_Nasha pretended to look shocked. "Oh, you Brits!"_

Sydney sighed. "This is pointless. They're always talking about boys."

Vaughn shrugged. This is what they were asked to do. This is what they're going to do. Although he must agree that it might be a waste of time if this turns out to be a red herring.

A few minutes later, the food they ordered arrived in the table.

"Thank you." He said to the waiter. The waiter smiled and left them to eat as they listened to their targets.

"Syd." She looked at Vaughn. He took a deep breath first, before airing out his thoughts. "If they find your… mother's location, will you go with the rescue team?" although he doesn't really know if Sloane will permit it since rescuing Irina Derevko means that the truth about Nadia's real father will surface. If Sloane put his faith in Rambaldi and didn't make a DNA test, then he knows as much as the ordinary person does about Nadia's real father.

"Of course. She's my mother."

Vaughn has mixed feelings about her response but decided not to comment about it. Whether he likes it or not, Irina Derevko is and will always be, Sydney's mother.

The girls' food arrived a few minutes after theirs. When everything was set, they resumed talking about their first and only topic. This resolution brought a small groan in Sydney and Vaughn's table.

"_Why don't you like Cedric, Eoclin?" Guinevere asked as she stabbed her steak with her fork._

_The mention of the name stopped Eoclin from eating. It also brought a big frown on her face. "For one thing, Mr. Cedric Gavin Averson IV is an arrogant, territorial and presumptuous rich jerk." She started to cut her chicken more roughly than she intended._

"_Hey, dude. We understand that you don't like him, but you don't have to put it out on the chicken." Dylan remarked. "You'll break the plate. Change the subject, Genny."_

_Guinevere looked at Dylan and then to Eoclin. "Uh… okay. So… does Cedric have any cute friends?"_

_Eoclin stared at her. Guinevere made a little kowtow. Eoclin sighed._

"_Well, actually." She tried to keep her voice even. The image of Cedric's pretty face is still in her head and its annoying her. _

"_I saw this guy… and he really caught my eye. One of his friends." She drank a half glass of water. "A week ago, I saw him and his friend in one of daddy's hotels. I'm still trying to get to the surveillance videos… anyway, this guy's tall, almost 6'1, black hair. Gorgeous guy. But his scar was… I dunno, cool?"_

_Nasha's eyes widened. "He has a scar?" She is very fascinated with scars. That was what actually the reason behind how she and Lex met._

"_Yeah, a long scar from the forehead down to his left eye. You know like Squall in Final Fantasy? And he has this really dangerous aura around him."_

_Deia smiled. "You know, just ask Cedric for his name."_

Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other. Eoclin Zagmun just described Mikhail Premenov, down to the scar.

"Boot camp, requesting to pull up the file of a Cedric Gavin Averson IV and the list of guests at the Majestic." Vaughn said to his com link.

"_Roger that."_

They then heard cell phones ringing. Sydney looked towards the girls' table. Eoclin and Alexia excused themselves and stood up. Their friends continued to talk about boys and schoolwork.

A few minutes later, Alexia returned to the table, crying.

"_Are you okay?" Nasha asked as Alexia sat down. She nodded her head, wiping her tears away with the tissue Deia handed her._

"_My mom just… she wants me to go…" Alexia choked, new tears springing out of her eyes and fogging her eyeglasses. "Philipp's waiting for me in the airport. I've got to go." She began to collect her things._

"_Okay." Dylan said. She disapproves of her friend's reaction towards her mother (which is distaste) but she can't help but feel sorry for her friend. Apparently, the Vadison mother-daughter tandem is a very unhealthy relationship._

_Alexia took out her wallet and gave it to Nasha. "Here's my share. And please finish my lunch…"_

_She said goodbye and left the restaurant, still crying._

"Ice queen just left the building."

Sydney sighed. According to Alexia Vadison's files, her mother is suffering from a heart ailment. Her mother also dislikes her intensely and vice versa.

Eoclin returned to the table a few minutes later.

"_What happened to Lex?" she asked after sitting down._

_Deia shrugged. "Her mom wants her in Italy. I think they argued. Guess who won?"_

_Eoclin sighed. Family issues. That's the problem with their friend. Temper and family issues. "Well, I'll be leaving after thirty minutes. Cedric called, saying that my dad and his dad want to see us in the pier. I have no idea why."_

Vaughn looked at his watch. Suddenly, **their** phones started to ring.

"_Marshall found a location. Meeting's in an hour."_

_-x-x-x- _

Jack distributed the folders containing the blueprints and their other plans. Dixon's reconnaissance mission went well and has reported that Irina is refusing to eat.

"Nadia, I have decided that you will not be participating in this mission. I want you to stay here and continue with the surveillance."

She raised a brow. "She's my mother too, you know."

"That's not the point." Jack replied, not taking a glance at her.

This irritated Nadia. "And your point is?" Distaste is so recognizable in her tone that Weiss could barely hide his cringe.

It was Jack's turn to raise a brow. "I don't have to explain my actions to you. Especially you."

Sydney looked at her father. He's being very rude and exceptionally mean to Nadia. It's unfair to her sister. She hasn't met her real father and now their father is preventing her from rescuing their mother.

They glared at each other. Nadia couldn't understand Jack's uncouth behavior. If this was an ordinary person, an ordinary agent, would he have asked her not to participate in this mission?

'Your mother is not an ordinary person…'

And then she remembered. She is the daughter of Irina Derevko **with** Arvin Sloane. Nadia swallowed the ball of anger that was lodged in her throat.

"Fine." She jutted her chin up, a sign of the stubbornness her mother passed on to her. "Do I have to stay for this briefing?"

Jack was caught off guard with her reaction. "If you want to, then suit yourself. It won't change my decision."

Sydney wants to scream at them. Her father's being stubborn and her sister's being stubborn. It's leading them nowhere.

"Can we now go the briefing please?" She can see that both Vaughn and Weiss are very uncomfortable with their current situation.

Her father looked at her and then to Weiss and Vaughn. "There will be four groups…" he continued to explain the plan, the details, the weapons and the groupings. Each of them will be leading a troop of five agents and will be assigned to different levels of the building.

Weiss browsed the folders. "Wait, where is she being held?"

Jack looked at him and then to Sydney. She's the only one who knows the painful significance of this place to him.

"She's in Belgium."

x-x-x-


	12. twelve

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters nor do I reap anything profitable when I write these stories…

A/N-Thank you to Badette for beta-ing Ü

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

The rambling, old, four-storey building stared at the streets, its gray stones looking at its surroundings ominously. Cars rarely pass by the street where it stands and its staggering ugliness, combined with the sealed windows stops interested people from exploring it. People, who can't avoid passing by, stay away as far as possible from the building. Rarely does anyone access its side doors.

People somehow felt that somebody was watching them. Truth be told, somebody **is** watching them.

Unseen, state of the art cameras are strategically positioned all over the building and the sealed windows are actually one-way mirrors. Aside from its four floors, it also has three sublevels. The side entrances are the most unkempt room in the building but it was necessary to show the people of its uselessness in exploration. But it is very well maintained, modern and well guarded. A contradiction to its appearance.

One of the guards on duty in the control room insipidly looked at the television screens in front of him. It is one AM in the morning, and he has one hour left before his shift ends. He doesn't really have any qualms about working inside the control room due to its cool temperature and it's in the first floor, but one in the morning is a god-awful time to be working.

He glanced at one of the screens. The nine other guards with him are doing their rounds to make sure their prisoner can not escape. Frankly speaking, he doesn't see the reason for this arrangement. Ten, heavily armed guards to one prisoner? She is weak and she could barely eat. How in the world will she be able to escape?

He looked at his watch. Fifty five more minutes before end of shift. He sighed and leaned back on his chair.

The door to the control room suddenly opened. He looked at his visitor and scrambled to stand up.

"Ma'am." He said and offered her his seat.

"No need, Hans. I'm just here to check on our prisoner."

Hans quickly typed a command on the keyboard and the cameras zoomed and focused on Irina Derevko, chained to the wall and asleep. He looked at his visitor. She popped out of nowhere and almost scared him to death.

A wave of relief passed by her face. "Good. Alert us immediately upon any sign of-"

Suddenly Hans fell forward on the controls. Blood began to ooze out at the back of his head.

She started to move quickly when she saw that someone has breached their security, but their assailant was quicker. She was shot directly in the heart.

"I guess you meant trouble." Their masked attacker said as she fell down the floor.

The assailant nimbly walked towards the panel and seized control.

"Stage one complete. You're clear to enter."

"_Copy that."_

The darkness is engulfing her, driving her to deep depths. She tried to break away, to swim free. But fear… fear is holding her back. The unknown scares her. Being unprepared for the unknown scares her.

_Fight it._ The voice inside her said. _Overcome your fear and fight it._

I can't. There's no more hope.

_Fight it. You can do it. There's too much at stake. Fight._

She wrestled with her fear. To break free means liberty, freedom. Freedom means that she can take back what they got from her, which is technically, her freedom.

All of a sudden, she felt something… familiar. A familiar presence of someone she loves.

A renewed strength filled her. She started to struggle with the trepidation. The ghouls of her current plight that seems to be choking her slowly loosened its grip and she broke free.

Her fear has passed. She fought it and won.

She swam up to the surface, to leave the darkness behind.

_Freedom_.

"_Irina?"_

_A warm hand held her cheek. The soothing voice repeated her name as the chains are eased from her wrists. The pain she tried to ignore throbbed ever painfully again._

"Irina?" The voice called out again. She lifted her weary eyelids and saw a silhouette of a man kneeling in front of her. Tears began to well out of her eyes. She went up the surface to face pain again?

"Please… I don't know where it is…" she whispered, almost pleading.

The man took her wrist, checking her pulse. "You'll be okay. You're safe." he cupped her face and looked at her.

_Safe. He said I'm safe._ She tried to look back at him. A mask covers his face but she can see his eyes. _Such familiar brown eyes._

She can feel her strength waning. Her eyelids fluttered to a close, but she heard him ask for back up. He started to call her again and she ignored it.

_Rest. I just want to rest._

"Retriever, is everything okay?" Sydney said in her com link. She's in the rooftop, guarding one of the possible escape routes in the building when she heard noises Weiss' com link. Noises of struggle.

She looked at her watch. They intended to finish within half an hour, and fifteen minutes has passed. They spent three minutes on disabling the control room, which according to Weiss, has one dead person already. The following twelve minutes was devoted on clearing the area and looking for the perpetrators. They found no one except for nine dead bodies.

"Retriever?" she repeated.

No answer.

She started to worry. She doesn't intend to bring Weiss home in a body bag.

Sydney ordered three of her men to accompany her check on Weiss. As they ventured down the stairs, they all felt the eeriness the building radiates. It is as if the walls grew eyes and are now looking at their very soul.

They got to the first floor without any problems. They proceeded to the control room and found Weiss and his team lying on the floor.

'Oh my god.' She rushed towards the bodies and checked for any sign of life. They are all alive, just unconscious.

She began to feel dizzy. Some sort of gas has permeated the room and its beginning to have an effect on her.

The three men who accompanied her slumped forward and fell on the floor. Sydney realized that they were standing below the ventilation. A few seconds later, a rope fell down from it, followed by a figure in black. Sydney tried not to inhale the gas but found herself weakening with every movement.

She crouched and watched as the figure, also dressed in an all black outfit and wearing night vision goggles and a gas mask, went opposite her position and unlocked a hidden panel in the wall. The moment it opened, a body fell out.

Sydney couldn't see who it was. Slowly, she sat up and took her gun. The moment she loaded it, the figure faced towards her direction. Apparently, their attacker did not know that there was one person left conscious.

Without thinking, Sydney fired her semi automatic. The bullet hit the masked figure on the chest and fell backwards.

Her chest tightened and her eyes closed. The gas sent Sydney into a deep sleep.

Jack said Irina's name once again but she did not respond. He checked her pulse again and found it incredibly slow.

"Boy scout, I need back up, now!"

He's wondering why his men haven't responded yet since they are just around the perimeter. Vaughn is outside the building, guarding the entrance. He couldn't contact Sydney or Weiss.

He heard footsteps coming his way. He looked towards the entrance and saw Vaughn entering.

"Where are the others?" Jack asked and stood up.

Vaughn didn't answer and instead raised his gun and pointed it at him. "Put down your weapons."

He realized that the masked man in front of him is not Vaughn.

"_We're being ambushed." _Vaughn's voice clearly resonated in his ear piece.

He slowly took his gun and lowered them down the floor. The figure in front of him is slightly shorter than him and quite thinner. His attention also seems to be not on him but on the body by his side.

Jack quickly lunged forward and tackled him. The gun fell on the floor as they both violently tumbled on the floor. Jack initiated the first punch. His opponent surprised him by getting back with a head butt and a punch on the side.

He struggled. His opponent is strong but slightly inexperienced with hand to hand combat. He felt that he can take this to his advantage. Jack pinned him on the ground and elbowed his opponent in the face.

The enemy was almost knocked out, but he used all his strength to push Jack away. He nimbly rolled towards the left side and stood up. As soon as he was on his feet, he went towards Jack and kicked him on the stomach.

Jack felt the force push him backwards. The pain is almost incapacitating, but he regained balance quickly. His adversary began to attack again, but he evaded him. Jack's hand shot forward and grabbed his opponent on the neck.

Pushing him towards the wall, his hold began to tighten. "Who sent you?" he gritted his teeth. His attacker started to fight back, but Jack kept his grip.

"Who sent you!" he asked with more fierce and force.

A shot rang out. Jack felt the pain explode in his chest. His hand loosened his hold on his opponent's neck, freeing him.

He shot him again on the chest. This time, Jack fell down on the floor.

She dreamed of him again. Dreamed about him taking her away from that wretched place. From hell. He called her name, freed her from the chains and held her cheek.

"_She's going to be alright. Don't worry."_

Is that his voice? Is he here? It wasn't a dream?

Her eyes opened. Bright lights flooded her vision. It seems to be blind her.

"Too… bright…" she hoarsely whispered. She's surprised she can still form words in her state.

"She's awake."

The lights were dimmed to a tolerable level.

And then she saw him, his face a bit bruised but full of genuine concern. "Are you okay?"

There seem to be something different with the way he spoke, but she couldn't deny that the face is Jack's.

"Jack?"

His facial expression turned into bewilderment. He glanced to a person she cannot see and raised a brow.

"_She's disoriented. It's normal…"_

He looked at her again. And she looked back. At Jack.

"No, mama. It's me, Nate."

Sloane waited for the progress in the rescue mission. Irina will kill him and Jack if she finds out that he's been playing the role of Nadia's father. But Nadia and Sydney desperately need her. And besides, even if he didn't authorize the mission, she will still be rescued. He'd rather be on the Bristow's good side than in the bad. But since he has some control on Irina's fate, he can limit Nadia's interaction with her.

Irina Derevko has a very powerful influence over others.

His phone rang. Sloane immediately answered it.

"Sloane."

"_We were ambushed. We failed to get her."_

He heard the defeat in Jack's tone. He rarely hears that from Jack.

"_But we have a prisoner. Someone who can help us track Irina."_

"Who?"

"_Katya Derevko."_

12?


	13. thirteen

Disclaimer: I do not any of the characters, except for the original ones, so please don't sue. I have no money to give you, okay? Okay…

A/N- Plagiarism is **not **flattery. Its very annoying and irritating and it **angers **me. Use your own creative juices, please. Yes, I know who you are. I will hunt you down if you don't stop. Okay? Okay.

Now going back to the story... 

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

_(1993, Germany)_

"Irina, we have a guest."

She didn't stand up. Instead, she angled her head towards the doorway and waited.

A few minutes later, Gerard Cuvee entered the room, followed by Alexander Khasinau.

"Irina." He smiled at her and opened his arms, expecting a welcoming hug from her.

"Alexander." She greeted and gave him a hug. "It's been too long."

"Two years is not too long when you compare it to the six years you disappeared on us."

Irina laughed but took a step back. She looked at Cuvee and then to Khasinau. "You picked a wrong time to visit, Alexander. I will not be staying long."

He chuckled. "Of course. I forgot that you don't like working during weekends."

Gerard handed her a glass of wine. "Irina is inviting you to see her new home. After it's finished, of course."

Irina smiled and sipped her drink. She sat down and leaned back on the leather chair.

"Where is this home?" He asked, interested.

"It's only a summer home. In Italy."

"Italy? I'm assuming fronting the beach?"

She smiled wider. "No. A countryside, actually."

Alexander chuckled once again. "Style, Irina. You have style."

Irina set down the wineglass on the table. "Thank you." She said as she pushed back an errant strand of hair away from her face that managed to escape her tight bun.

It's been three years since she lost contact with Jack and Sydney. They think she's dead. They believe that she and the twins are dead. She also hasn't heard any news on Nadia's whereabouts and this is frustrating her. Everything about her life now is frustrating her.

"...Irina?"

She blinked. She didn't hear what he said. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Alexander smiled. "I was just asking Gerard about your children."

Irina stiffened a bit. Her lips thinned and anger flashed in her eyes. It was brief and was masked quickly, but Alexander saw it.

"I gave them up for adoption." She said calmly, even after seeing the menace in his smile.

He curiously looked at her. Irina didn't break when she was tortured three years ago, even when they threatened that they will kill her children. She somehow knew that the KGB will not hurt them. She said that she will never abandon them. She told them that before and they knew she'll do anything to keep her word. But this news...

"Adoption? That is very much unlike you." Irina thinks more with her heart, more with her emotion.

"They will be a burden. I'm better off with them." Her eyes are blank, emotionless.

Alexander looked at Gerard, who grinned at him, victorious.

Cuvee refilled Irina and Khasinau's glasses with wine. He raised his for a toast.

"_To Irina. Welcome back."_

_-x-x-x- _

Sunlight crept in the room, beaming through the small gap between the red velvet curtains. It has been closed for the past few days, hiding the bedroom and its occupant from the outside world.

Consciousness began to drift in her brain. Irina has been asleep for the past two days. Her body is demanding that she wake up now.

The soft, warm blanket was the first thing she became aware of. The supple, comfortable bed and the plush pillows came next. She hasn't felt this luxury ever since she was thrown in that dark, cold cell.

'Wait, I'm supposed to be still inside that dark, cold cell.' She thought. The idea of dreaming luxury amidst suffering and torture is wrong and dangerous.

Her eyes flew open. A beautiful chandelier greeted her a good morning.

She tried to pull herself up. As she looked around, disconcertion and confusion filled her. She is reclined on a king sized bed with a white bedspread and five more fluffy pillows. In front of her is a beautiful linoleum fireplace with an expensive-looking watercolor painting hanging above it. A plush chair sits on one corner, beside a tall bookshelf. An antique lamp stood beside an equally ancient coffee table. The pricey Persian carpet covered the wood finished floor and absorbs most of the sounds in the room. At the far right of the room, the slightly opened velvet curtains hide the bullet proof French doors that lead to the balcony. At the other end of the room are double doors made out of oak, with handcrafted titanium doorknobs.

'I'm home…'

Irina leaned back on the pillows and allowed herself to absorb the comfort it brought. Her wrists, back muscles and legs are aching ever since she pulled herself up to sitting position.

She thought the whole rescue was a dream. But if it wasn't, then why is she here? She clearly heard Jack's voice and if she was taken by the CIA, she would have been in a cell.

'Oh no… did they…?'

Her heart began to race as she began to recollect bits and pieces of that night. Jack was there, and she is quite sure he was there. But so was her son.

'Impossible. Nathan wouldn't be doing these kinds of things.'

She threw off the covers and swung her legs at the edge of the bed. Irina noticed that she is wearing blue pajamas. She wondered where the person who changed her clothes got it. She doesn't have any pajamas. Or nightwear for that matter.

She tried to stand but her knees wobbled violently. She held on to the handcrafted side table to keep herself from falling forward. It took a few minutes before she got steady on her feet, but she found out that her sense of balance is out of place. If she tries to walk without any support, she'll fall flat on her face.

Irina dejectedly sighed. She barely stood up during those months of capture. The only time she was able to walk was when they dragged her out of her corner and transported her to the torture room. They once tried to chain both her wrists and ankles in the early weeks, but found out that it was too much of a hassle especially when she started to kick the guards.

Sitting down, she pulled up her legs toward the bed. Her stomach grumbled.

She hasn't felt this sensation for a long time.

Frustration was beginning to boil inside her when the double doors opened. A man dressed in casual, white, long sleeved polo and dark trousers entered, pushing a breakfast cart. When he saw her sitting on the bed, he smiled.

"Good morning." He is very cheerful. He crossed the room and opened the velvet curtains.

Sunlight burst in the room, bathing them with its radiance. Irina had to shield her eyes from the brightness. She's been used to the dark and the sun used to be something from her imagination.

He opened the French doors. The chirping of the birds and the barking of the dogs drifted inside the room.

"It's too bright." She said her words softly and slowly but he heard her objection loud and clear.

"Nonsense, doctor's orders." He looked at her again. Irina lost a lot of weight and is so thin. Her seemingly hollow face and the unhealthy hue of her skin worried the doctor. She looks very fragile. He knows that she was abused, both physically and mentally. But they didn't see any scars from the physical maltreatment.

"How are you feeling? You've been asleep for two days." He went towards the cart and lifted the tray.

As he walked towards her, Irina studied his face. He acquired a lot more wrinkles ever since the last time they saw each other, but his distinguished gait is still there. His hair, though…

"I'm fine. What did you do to your hair?"

An amused smile pulled his lips as he shrugged. He gracefully set the tray on her lap and sat on the chair next to her bed. He watched as she looked at the food prepared for her.

There are two big pieces of French toast, a bowl of delicious-smelling oatmeal, a bowl of fresh fruits and a glass of milk.

Irina stared at the tray. She might be hungry but she will not be able to eat all of it. The task seems a little impossible.

"You're expected to finish everything on that tray. Including the milk."

She looked at him. "Benjamin-"

"No buts. Eat." The marine officer in him surfaced, as if he is giving orders to a subordinate. "I'm quite sure that you don't want to stay in this… weakened position for long."

He could only smile when Irina immediately took one of the French toast and began to nibble it. Being weak and helpless is something Irina abhors.

She looked at him discreetly. She has so many questions and she hopes that Benjamin Petersen can answer all of them. But she waited for a while before doing any inquiring.

"How did you find me?" she softly asked.

"We intercepted intel."

"Did you lead the team?"

Benjamin Petersen glanced at her. "Yes. I did."

"How did you get your men and weapons?" he leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes as she asked him the question.

"Connections. I still have them you know."

Irina scoffed. "I thought you're out of this game."

He smiled. "You thought wrong." He opened his eyes and leaned forward. "Eat." He said as he patted her feet.

Irina took a bigger bite on the toast. She was hungrier than she thought. "Were Nathan and Sofya with you back there?"

"No." His response was too quick that it made her suspicious. She looked at him and raised a brow, but he just smiled. "If you think I'm lying, ask your children."

That made her smile back at him. "Well, if you put it that way, I'm going to guess that they did go with you."

"Just in the plane, Irina."

She shook her head and continued eating. The toast is delicious and when she finished the first one, she quickly started on working on the second one. She finished it much faster. The oatmeal was next.

Irina took the spoon. Her fingers buckled and she lost her grip. It clattered on the tray noisily.

She tried again. The same thing happened.

"Take you time." Benjamin said and stood up slowly and walked towards the balcony.

Irina's eyes furrowed. The only times she had a chance to use her hands were to defend herself from the guards. Using her hands to eat was not an option. They practically force-fed her everyday, though she didn't exactly swallow everything they shoved in her mouth.

She took the spoon again, but this time slower and with more concentration. Her hands shook a bit as she scooped a portion of oatmeal.

Benjamin stepped out to the terrace. He can hear shouts and laughter of two teenagers, a sound he rarely heard in the past year or so.

"_Iya, it's just a puppy!"_

"_Puppy my ass! It weighs more than me!"_

"_Fine, okay, it's not a puppy. But it's a St. Bernard. They are tranquil dogs. He's not going to maul you."_

"_He squished me!"_

He looked down and saw Sofya, wearing a yellow shirt and blue jeans standing out in the greenness that is the leaves of the oak tree, sitting in one of the branches. The tree is directly in front of the room.

She climbed higher when her brother didn't make any move to hold the dog.

"_Get down from there, you'll injure yourself."_

"_I'll go down if you promise that you'll hold that dog."_

"_No."_

She climbed even higher until she and Benjamin Petersen were almost eye to eye.

"Sofya, what are you doing?" he asked, both amused and concerned with her plight. He kept alert, though. You might never know when an accident might strike.

She was startled, but kept her balance on the branches.

"Is mom awake?"

He nodded his head. Her face lighted up.

"Can I just jump from here to the balcony?"

Benjamin raised a brow. "Of course not. Get down from the tree and go up the stairs, just like a normal person would do."

He watched as Sofya climbed down and jumped off the tree, surprising her brother and the dog. When she told him that their mother is awake, they both scrambled towards the house, leaving their pet outside.

He walked inside the room and found Irina halfway done with her oatmeal. He observed her. Sometimes, he wonders how Irina managed everything to go as normally as possible in this part of her life.

"Where are the children?"

"Yours or mine?" he asked jokingly. Running footsteps thundered in the hallway and stopped by the doors. Nathan arrived first.

"Mama." The boy greeted and hurried towards her, sitting at the edge of the bed. Sofya shoved him the moment she caught up with him.

"You're so unfair." She hissed but her brother just stuck his tongue out and then grinned at her.

Irina felt tears stinging her eyes the moment she saw the bickering teens in front of her. She also felt a mixture of happiness and sadness within her. Sydney and Nadia aren't here. And they will probably not welcome her the same way as the twins would.

Nathan, who grew two inches or so in the last six months, is looking more like his father everyday. It pains her to see Jack's face in her son, but she is thankful that Nathan acts the way his father acted when he was young. Good natured, easy going, relaxed. His serious side appears once in a while, but... her only wish is that he'll never act the way his father is acting today.

Sofya, on the other hand, looks nothing like Nathan except for the color of their eyes and skin. The rest of her features are a mixture of her parents. Though she couldn't deny that her daughter has the facial structure and the temperament of a Derevko, Irina can see that sometimes, the way she expresses her anger is akin to how Jack conveys it.

Her daughter rolled her eyes. "You're so childish." She muttered and then childishly stuck her tongue out at him. Nathan laughed.

Her children. All those suffering… it was for them.

Tears flowed out of her eyes.

The moment they fell down her cheeks, Nathan hugged and kissed her. "It's okay. We missed you."

His sister followed suit after overcoming her wariness with the tears. Seeing people cry unnerves her.

Irina hugged Sofya tightly. She felt her stiffen a bit and then eased.

"I've missed you too." She said as she wiped her cheeks. She looked at Benjamin, who smiled and nodded his head.

"I'll leave you three alone." He walked out and closed the door.

x-x-x-

_(11.30 pm, Spain)_

As her bulletproof Mercedes sped through the countryside, Irina undid her bun and relaxed.

'Three weeks. It's been too long...'

She's been moving from country to country ever since the fall of the USSR, but spends the longest in Spain. Cuvee offered that she live with him in his posh luxurious house in Monaco. She declined. Cuvee is quite possessive. She also distrusts him, one of the reasons why she lied about her twin children. Knowing that they are not in her care will keep him busy.

She will not allow Gerard Cuvee to use her children against her. He treated them like experiments when they were kept away from her. What will stop him from doing it again?

'Thank god for Andrian's help.'

Irina looked out to the window and noticed that they are slowing down.

"Martin, what's wrong?"

Her driver/bodyguard looked back to her from the driver's seat.

"Just a little problem, Madame. No need to worry. Just please don't leave the car. "

Her twenty-something aide, excellently trained in weapons and hand to hand combat couldn't hide his panic well.

Irina raised a brow. Martin opened his door and stepped out, leaving her inside.

"Martin!"

She took her gun from a hidden compartment and followed him out. He pulled over a grassy area, a few kilometers away from the villa.

"Why did... Oh my god..."

A few kilometers away, she saw dark smoke rising in the clear, starless sky.

The villa is on fire.

"Drive me home, now!" Pure panic and anger was present in her tone.

"Madame, there are men extinguishing the fire. You must stay here for your safety-"

"I AM MORE INTERESTED IN THE SAFETY OF THE OCCUPANTS OF THE HOUSE!"

Irina walked towards the driver's seat. "Give me the keys." she ordered as she looked at him.

Martin stared at her. "B-b-but I was ordered to protect you." he stammered fazed with the intensity of her glare.

"Its either you drive or I do."

Martin knows that he will be fired (or even killed) if he'll not listen to her orders. "Get in the car, please." he sighed as his boss got in quickly.

The drive was quick. Martin didn't give her the chance to bite her nails.

She quickly stepped out of the car. One of her men ran towards her.

"The fire's out. The east wing was the only one affected-"

She stared at him. The glint in her eyes is so frightening that he couldn't describe it.

"We're still looking for them. We found five dead bodies-" He wasn't able to finish because she ran inside.

Irina knows where they are. Her heart is beating so fast and so hard that it is the only thing that she can hear.

She ran up the stairs, up to the fourth floor and began calling out their names.

Halfway through the hallway, she almost tripped on Maria, the teenage daughter of the nanny, sprawled on the floor. Irina checked her pulse. She's still alive.

"I'll attend to her, Ms. Derevko."

She looked at the speaker and saw Martin already attending to the girl.

Irina stood up and continued with her search. It ended at the hallway, the room where the twins rarely play in.

She ran inside and stopped almost immediately. Time stopped as she took in her surroundings.

Irina could only stare at what she's seeing. Men the size of giants were sprawled on the floor bleeding. Some were dead; some were unconscious (but mostly dead). The flickering of the fluorescent light illuminated the carnage.

A figure stood out amidst the sea of dead bodies. A girl of about six years old is sitting on the floor, her clothes and half of her face covered with blood. Another child is lying on her lap almost with the same state as the girl's except that his face is covered with cloth drenched in blood.

'How... Is this the result of the experiments?'

"Ms. Derevko..."

She came back to her senses when she heard her name.

"Call for a doctor. Quickly!"

Irina didn't know if she spoke to him in English or Russian. She didn't even know who she spoke to. She really doesn't care. All she knows is those two children need her.

_"Mommy..."_

_"Iya are you okay?" _she quickly took off her coat and wrapped the little girl with it. She tried to ease her brother off her when somebody helped her.

Martin. Again. He lifted the boy and hurried out. Irina followed him, carrying Sofya.

_"Mommy, Natey's face is bleeding."_

_"Yes, sweetie. I know."_

_"My face is bleeding too. It hurts."_

Irina could hear the fear in her child's voice. Her hazel eyes convey more of it. She clutched her tighter, to give the child a temporary sense of security.

_"Everything will be okay, sweetie. You and Nate will be okay."_

_"But we killed all of them. I've never heard screams like them. But they hurt me and Nate... They deserved it."_

A look of horror passed Irina's face. If she doesn't do anything about this incident, both of her children will be haunted by this memory.

Several of her men caught up with them, intending to bring them to safety. Martin already went ahead.

_"You'll be okay, sweetie. I promise."_


	14. fourteen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, except for the original ones, so please don't sue. Don't copy either Ü thank you

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

The blindfold was taken off his eyes, but not the shackles in his wrists and ankles.

And then, he saw him. Arvin Sloane.

"Welcome to our humble conference room, Mr. Sark." He saw the confusion on the young man's face. He understood it, but decided that it will be Dixon who will explain.

Sark raised a brow and looked around. The conference room is very nice, with its white ceiling and glass walls. "What am I doing here? No, the question I should better ask is what are you doing here?"

Sloane looked smiled. "I have redeemed myself, Mr. Sark." He then looked at Dixon, who looked at Sark. The expression on the young man's face is a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

Dixon cleared his throat. The CIA shouldn't trust this man. Actually, the CIA shouldn't trust these two men, Sloane and Sark.

"Mikhail Premenov. Does the name ring any bells?"

Sark leaned back on the chair. 'He finally showed himself…' he thought. A small, amused smile formed in his lips.

Mikhail Premenov is the most elusive and mysterious of all Irina Derevko's associates. Actually, Sark wouldn't call him an associate. Mikhail is actually more of a ghost. Irina doesn't even know that some of the people in her organization know about him.

"What about him?"

Sloane clasped his hands together and leaned forward on the table. "He has something we want."

The eyebrow rose higher. "And that is?"

"It's a need-to-know basis." Dixon answered.

Sark shrugged, nonchalantly. "I know him. He knows me. What now?"

Dixon looked at him suspiciously. "How do we contact him?" Sark shrugged again.

"I put up an ad for fish and chips in the London Globe. He contacts me and we discuss a location for the meeting. We meet personally, do the business. I normally bring three bodyguards with me and he normally brings four."

Dixon leaned forward. "How old is Mikhail Premenov?" he's very curious. Sark seems to answer to this Premenov, but Sark seems older than him.

"Younger than me." Sloane looked at Sark. Their young prisoner's reaction seemed so simple, so _normal_. The fact that Mikhail Premenov is a terrorist and younger than him is so normal for him.

"Your procedure seems so simple." He commented. "Are you sure there's no lie somewhere in the process?"

Sark shook his head. "There are no lies. The simplicity of the procedure enables Mikhail to see deception. He will know if the meeting is a trap."

"Don't worry, Mr. Sark. It's not him we're after. Well, not yet." Sloane answered. Dixon glanced at him but he ignored it.

"Really? And what will I be talking about with Mikhail?"

"Human cloning."

x-x-x-

The door opened and he walked inside the room, totally oblivious to the fact that he doesn't own the room.

"Sh-t, Nathan. Don't you know how to knock!"

He quickly did a double take and then turned his back from her. His sister is half naked, wearing only a pair of jeans and her bra.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "How's your bruise?"

Sofya has an ugly bruise on her chest, something she acquired a few days ago when they rescued their mother. She had trouble breathing after that but suddenly became fine after their mother woke up.

"It's purple and hideous. If I don't take painkillers, I'll not be able to sleep at night." She took the green shirt that is spread on her bed and put it on.

"You can turn around now." She started to fix her beddings while at the same time trying to fix her hair in a ponytail. Her room is messy and she's trying hard to keep it clean by the time she leaves.

Nathan smoothed the yellow comforter as he sat on the double sized bed and leaned on the fluffy pillows.

"Uh, something came up." His twin has already moved to fixing the clutter on her desk.

What he said made her look at him. The moment she saw the apologetic expression on his face, she felt irritation spike through her. She tossed the pieces of paper on the garbage can and started to crumple the bigger pieces.

"You will not break this off." She hissed. "We had a deal."

"I'm not going to break it off, but it's for an old… an old friend."

She made a sound of disapproval. "You said after we find mom, we'll stop. Unless you find a way to convince her that we can handle this insanity, fine. But if you want to get your Porsche confiscated and both of us grounded until further notice, I suggest you go on with it." Sofya sarcastically replied as she put on her eyeglasses.

"It's going to be a phone call." Nathan answered. "But if I need your help…"

She sighed. "How many minutes is this phone call?"

"Uh, when's your flight?" Nathan saw her raise a brow.

"In five hours. But I need to be there two hours early."

Nathan stood up. "Give me three hours. I'll drive you to the airport."

"Three hours for a phone call? You've got to be kidding me." She muttered. But she knows that she'll be helping Nathan, no matter what. They just have to find a way to keep this a secret from their mother.

Her twin smiled. "We're not exactly in England, you know."

Sofya frowned and turned away from him. Nathan made an attempt to sense anger from her. When you make her angry, it's never an issue if you get a reaction or not. You'd better find a way to make peace with her because the next step for her is revenge. It's always revenge.

'Hmm… what to bribe?'

x-x-x-

Jack walked in the buzzing hallway on his way to the faculty room. It's lunchtime, the students' most favorite subject after dismissal. He smiled at the students who greeted him. Although they don't like Physics, they like the teacher. Mr. Brennen is smart, easygoing and he knows how to make the lessons easy. Too bad he'll be teaching for just a month or so.

He saw Sydney talking to one of the students. She seemed so at ease at this role. Jack knows that if she will be able to get out of the espionage business, she will make a good teacher.

'Like her mother…'

They failed to get Irina. He doesn't know whether to be disappointed or not. For one thing, they were ambushed. He was shot twice; Sydney and the rest were incapacitated with either sleeping gas or tranquilizers.

And then there is Katya Derevko. She was tranquilized, bound and gagged, as if she was some sort of sacrificial lamb offered to the gods. They found her in the control room, but Sydney said that she shot someone. They didn't find any more dead/bleeding bodies inside the room except for the dead man named "Hans".

"… Thank you, Mrs. Patterson."

Sydney smiled at her and said goodbye as the girl left. She then saw her father standing a few feet away from her.

"Dad." She greeted plastering a fake smile on her face. "Where do you want to have lunch?"

Jack walked beside her. "The quadrangle's fine. I find it an idyllic spot." Apart from it being idyllic, it is also a good place to discuss the mission. Hardly anyone goes there.

Sydney glanced at him. Sometimes, they are acting so contrived that it's almost believable that they have a close relationship.

"I'll be dropping off some papers in my desk. Let's just meet there." Jack suggested. She nodded her head and they parted ways.

x-x-x-

Their meal was peppered with tense silence, inane small talk and conversations about the weather. Sydney can still feel her anger whenever the tension seeps in their dialogue.

"So what will you do with the plants your Aunt Bertha gave you?"

Sydney felt confused. "Who gave me plants?"

"Your Aunt Bertha gave you plants."

Sydney blinked. Her father is an only child, but James Brennen has a spinster sister named Albertha Brennen.

"Aunt Bertha?" Sydney repeated. "Can we stop this senseless talk for a while, dad? Let's tackle the pink elephant in front of us first."

Jack eyebrows knotted in confusion. "What pink elephant?"

"Mom."

The expression on her father's face became impassive. "You're angry about it." He stated. The moment he said those words, he saw the resentment flash in Sydney's eyes.

"Of course I'm angry about it. Nadia's angry too, except that she has _Sloane_ to confide in." She answered sarcastically.

Jack raised a brow and stood up. "I still have a class." He turned away from his daughter and started to walk away.

It took all of her self control not to scream out in anger and frustration. 'Why is he doing this? Why is he…!' she clenched her fist as the tears of exasperation began to form in her eyes.

Jack stopped midway. He's been running away from Sydney's questions and accusations and this is the first time he literally walked away from one. He can't go on with this. Sooner or later, the truth will surface. He doesn't want to be alone when that happens.

He pivoted and retraced his steps.

"I'm sorry that you're angry. I really am. But how I deal with your mother is my business, not yours."

Sydney felt surprised that he came back and apologized. He rarely does that.

"How you deal with mom is your business, I agree. But we deserve to know the truth. Especially Nadia." She stared directly into his eyes.

"It's not as easy as you think."

"That's because you haven't tried."

She had a point. Things seem to be harder to do when you've never tried it. He has been lying for the past fifteen years that he has completely forgotten how to tell the truth. But truth is rarely simple. It's always complicated, it always implicates the lies with it.

"You'll know, in time-"

"You sound like her." Sydney said accusingly. "You know, 'truth takes time'"? That's her line too."

Jack sighed. "It's much safer for both of you this way. You'll understand. Not just now." He turned away from her again, but this time, he didn't stop and didn't look back.

x-x-x-

(London)

A rambling seven storey building stood in front Sark, sending mixed signals of fear and welcome in his heart. The building is being used for commercial purposes, thus security guards are roaming around the floors and the perimeter.

Mikhail intentionally chose this building for their meeting. For one thing he owns it.

He and the three CIA agents, who are pretending to be his security guards, entered through the back door as inconspicuously as possible. Two agents flanked him both as protectors and as jailers. The third one is behind them, alert for any double cross.

They walked in the elevator. Sark entered the four digit code and pressed "7" twice.

He looked at the security cameras. He found himself wondering if he should continue with the CIA's plan. If Mikhail Premenov discovers this double cross, he'll not hesitate to kill him on the spot. His protocols enable him to have every advantage at his hand. If Sark fails to deceive him, they're dead.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out into a sterile-looking corridor. Sark walked forward, the clicking of his black leather shoes echoing in the empty hallway.

They arrived at the end of the hallway, after a few seconds. Three men are standing in front of the door.

"Mr. Premenov requests that you leave your men with us."

Sark nodded his head and then looked at the agents.

"It was agreed beforehand. You needed not to tell me."

One of the men escorted him inside. The CIA agents warily looked at his back. They all know how duplicitous he can be.

"He's here, sir."

"Thank you. Please, leave us." His voice timbered, his British accent tumbling out with his words.

Sark looked at the speaker after the doors closed. He found him sitting in the center of the room, in front of a glass desk. A snowy white laptop is in front of him.

The room is brightly lit, accommodating, even if it's barely furnished.

"It's nice to finally know you've finally decided to introduce yourself to the world." Sark greeted and approached the table.

"Well, the world will never have the chance to know me better." he said, amusement laced in his tone. He glanced at Sark. He's wearing a suit, as usual.

"How's your-"

"She's fine." Mikhail immediately answered, not giving him a chance to complete his sentence. "What can I do for you?"

Sark stood in front of him. Mikhail is wearing a dark, long sleeved polo, dark trousers and dark shoes. His black hair is tousled, covering almost two inches of his four inch scar.

"I need help." Sark started. Mikhail motioned him to sit down, which he promptly did. "The _Shining Sword_ has acquired top secret data on successful experiments on human cloning and DNA mutations. They are not budging to calls to sell it to the highest bidder."

"And you want it for your own? But aren't they rumors?" he asked, his eyes flickering from the computer to Sark.

Sark could feel his heart beating so fast. The CIA is hearing what he's hearing and seeing what he' seeing. If his contact detects the bugs, he'll ask for no explanations.

'Well, at least the CIA will have a better picture of him.'

"According to the intel we've gathered, it's not a rumor anymore."

Mikhail leaned back on his chair and began to tap his index finger on the glass desk. The end product is quite intimidating. Sark wonders how Mikhail, who at barely eighteen years of age, exudes such nerve wracking effect without wielding a gun.

'Must be his lineage.'

"Are you working with the Covenant?"

Sark shook his head. He expected this question. "No. It's for my own personal gain."

A brow was raised. "I don't believe you."

"I'm going to sell it to the Covenant to get my $800B back or what's left of it. And since this intel is too sensitive for the Covenant to get their hands on, I intend to double cross them."

Mikhail laughed. "You'll earn their ire, Julian."

This time, Sark smiled. "I know where my loyalties rest, Mik."

'WHERE DO YOUR LOYALTIES LIE? WITH THE CIA? WITH IRINA DEREVKO? OR WITH YOURSELF?'

He half expected Mikhail to snort, say _"Oh really?"_ and then shoot him in the head.

He didn't do that.

"How can I be of service?"

Sark cleared his throat. "The data is stored in their computer server."

"Ahh..." Mikhail smiled. "Computers."

He stood up and started to walk around the table. The fluorescent light is shining on his head, making him look angelic. But it doesn't help in revealing what he's thinking.

"The hackers I've employed... will be retiring after I contact them for another job. This will be their last job."

"I'll pay them handsomely."

"Julian, it will be my last job too."

Sark gaped at him. The CIA's plan is to get the hackers first before they get him because they are the only ones in his organization who can wreak damaging havoc if he went missing. If this is his last time to appear **as** Mikhail Premenov, Sark is pretty sure the CIA will never catch him.

Mikhail went back to his chair and sat down again. He took his cell phone and called someone.

(meanwhile)

"Is she the only one inside? What is she doing?" Weiss asked Nadia as he closed the door.

She looked at him. "She's sick and watching a show about cheat codes in Playstation 2 and Xbox."

"Oh... it's called _Cheats_." He handed to her the pint of chocolate ice cream she asked for and sat down the hair next to her. "She doesn't really play those games, does she?"

Nadia shook her head.

"She's weird." Weiss commented. They then heard a cell phone ringing. Weiss automatically patted his shirt pocket.

"That's not yours." Nadia remarked, smiling.

Weiss grinned. "I knew that." he said.

They both watched as one of their targets took the call.

_"You know, you sound like an idiot when you talk like that."_

Weiss turned to Nadia. "Who is she talking to?"

(Back with Sark)

He tried to make sense of the conversation. Mikhail is switching from English to Russian to Spanish to German and then back to English again. He or rather they are talking about invitations and protocols. He cannot see its relevance to their meeting.

A few minutes later, Mikhail turned to look at him.

"Your timeline?" he asked. The cell phone is still in his hand.

"Two weeks is the latest-"

Mikhail turned away from him and talked on the phone again. A few seconds later, and the phone disappeared. Mikhail's attention is back to him.

"You have a deal, Julian."

Sark bit back a sigh of relief. But it's not yet over.

Mikhail began to type something in his laptop. Though his silence is killing him, Sark kept quiet and waited.

Minutes passed. The sound of the printer working suddenly echoed in the room.

"Are you printing a contract?" Sark half-jokingly asked. Mikhail took the paper and slightly waved it around, allowing the ink to dry.

"An invitation, actually. Angel and Athena's protocols were sent to your email." He gave the paper to Sark. "You'll understand what this is when you've seen the protocols."

He stood up, and clasped the laptop shut. He took it with him and walked towards the door opposite to where Sark entered.

'This is not that simple… is he going to entrap me?' Sark thought.

"Mikhail." He called out. His contact is almost out of the doorway when he looked back to him.

"Are you going to send me to my death?" Sark asked.

Mikhail raised a brow. "Did you ask to be sent to your death?"

Sark shrugged. "No."

"Then I'm not. Follow the protocols to the dot and you'll be fine."

Sark watched as Mikhail Premenov disappeared from sight. Back when he was in Irina Derevko's organization, he rarely sees him but when he does, it's only in Irina's humble abode. When Irina went into hiding, they began to make contact so that they can exchange intel. He knows who he really is and what he might be going through. He seems to know the reason why he's wreaking mayhem into the world.

'She's dead. But it's a good thing he wants to stop. She will not want it that her son change into a monster.'


	15. fifteen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters except for the original ones so please don't sue.

A/N- Sorry... this one has not been beta read...

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

"Hey, James."

He didn't look up. He is so focused on his papers checked and done with. Pitte Benson can see that James Brennen, who appears relaxed in class, doesn't radiate the same ease when he's doing real work. He has heard that James gives tons of written assignments and always returns the assignments the day after his students passed them, checked and correctly graded.

'It seems that he has a type A personality…'

Pitte approached his table and called him again.

"James."

He looked up. Pitte saw that he essays. A physics teacher is checking essays.

"Pitte." The greeting was cordial, but he smiled when Pitte smiled at him.

"My wife wants you to come over on Sunday to have dinner with us." Actually, his youngest children, Roan and Hanna were the ones who wanted James Brennen to come over for dinner. They only had to convince their mother so that they could convince their father.

"This Sunday?"

"Uh, yes. Can you make it?"

He mulled for a while. He must be thinking about the piles of paper that's going to go unchecked.

A few seconds later, he got his answer.

"Yes, I can. What time do I have to be there?"

Pitte smiled. "Around seven thirty." James nodded his head. Pitte continued, "Laine will be making her famous roast beef. I promise you, you'll be asking for more after you've eaten it." He grinned at him.

Jack could feel that Pitte Benson is very proud of his wife's culinary skills.

'I wonder why.' He thought and just smiled at the Algebra Professor. When he left, a few minutes later, he took his steno notepad and began to write.

He's going to be needing optech for this.

x-x-x-

_1993, Italy_

_A cup of coffee sat on the table and stared at her. The distinct aroma of its blackness lingered in her nose, and tantalized her taste buds._

_She sighed and took a sip. Her eyes closed as she savored the richness of her drink._

_She has been staying in this house for almost a week, supposedly vacationing. Although she believes that babysitting is not supposed to be part of it._

'_God, Irina. What have you gotten me into?'_

_She's been watching over her sister's twin children. Irina's adorable, intelligent children. Unfortunately, those two children can also be screaming, kicking and cranky ill-tempered children with a knack for hitting each other in the face. They can be so uncontrollable. If she continues to be in this kind of environment, she'll definitely go insane._

'_Now I know how mama and papa went through with us. But Christ help Irina… those kids…'_

_She looked at the wall clock. It's past eleven. The twins are definitely asleep at this time._

_Relief spread through her. 'Peace and quiet. At last.' She took another sip from the cup. She has to enjoy this moment because she'll not have this again until another twenty four hours._

"_Aunt Katya?"_

_The little voice interrupted her bliss. She opened her eyes and saw Nathan, who is wearing blue pajamas with superhero characters as its design, standing by the doorway._

"_What is it, dushka?" she motioned him to come closer. She can sense the boy's fear. "Was it a dream?"_

_Nathan nodded his head. "They wanted to take us away again." his lips began to tremble._

_She knows that she should assure him. That it will never happen again, that they will not slaughter their would-be kidnappers and that they will never feel the sensation of life fading away in their hands._

"_It was just a dream. It will not happen again." she hugged the little boy and lifted him up. Lightly, she traced the four inch cut in her nephew's forehead, the souvenir from the massacre back in Spain._

"_When will mama be home?"_

"_Soon." And when mama comes home, she'll make you forget that incident. _

_She carried him up to his room and tucked him in bed._

_When she was about to turn off the lights, Nathan called out to her._

"_Aunt Katya?"_

_She looked at him and smiled._

"_You hug like mama."_

That was a long time ago.

Now she's on vacation, which is something she currently doesn't want to do. The accommodations are less than accommodating, her wardrobe is monochromatic, the beddings… uncomfortable. She has a feeling that this _vacation_ is the start of long, boring, quiet days ahead.

Well, at least she can still see the sun. Unlike what she did to Irina.

She heard footsteps coming her way. Frankly speaking, why couldn't she have a Hannibal Lecter-ish cell like Irina? From her sister's off-handed comments, it seemed bigger than the ordinary six by eight cell she's staying in.

'It must be the way we got here. She surrendered, I got… framed.'

"Katya."

Arvin Sloane stood in front of the metal bars. Irina's saviors practically handed her over to them. The only thing that seems to have been misplaced was a big red ribbon and a card.

"Arvin." She plastered a mocking smile on her face and slowly slipped off the unpleasant bed. Sloane is wearing a dark turtleneck and a coat. He looks very nice. And together with the beard… it makes him look very distinguished.

He smiled at her. "Unfortunately, Sydney cannot be able to see you. Nor can Nadia."

"She cannot see me or she does not want to see me?"

"She cannot see you." Sloane answered.

Katya sauntered towards him. "What are you doing here? I doubt that's all you came here for."

Sloane pursed his lips, amused. "We need information." A smile formed in her face. She's equally amused with his reply.

"Of course." She crossed her arms in front of her and waited for Sloane to start the questions. He, on the other hand, took a folder from inside his coat.

"A pocket full of surprises, aren't we?"

He took only a glance at her before taking a photograph out of the folder and showed it to her.

Katya hid her surprise and could only raise a brow when she saw who was in the picture. A colored picture of an attractive, dark-haired young man who has a well sculpted face and a long scar from his forehead down to the bottom of his right eye.

Nathan.

"I do not know him by name." Katya knows that he could sense that she's lying, but she continued. "Mr. Sark knows him. Extensively."

"He was behind your capture. And Irina's rescue."

Katya pursed her lips. "Is that so?" her tone was a mixture of sarcasm, amusement and pride. She looked at Sloane and angled her head. She is waiting for his reaction to the picture.

But Sloane just returned the picture in the folder. Without saying goodbye, he turned to leave.

"I know you are not blind, Arvin." Katya called out. "You can see something more in that picture."

Sloane stopped but didn't look at her. "Why do you think I'm so interested in him?"

Her fingers gripped the metal bars. She's sending her nephew to the wolves. "So you're putting it under the guise of catching a terrorist?"

"He is a terrorist, Katya."

"Does Jack know?"

This time Sloane turned his head. "He has accepted that his beloved twins are dead. He doesn't need this… burden of knowing the truth."

He looked ahead and left. He has just shown the side he tries so hard to contain. But this boy, the boy Sark met… Jack is better off without knowing.

x-x-x-

(Sunday)

Jack locked the door to his house and took slow steps towards the Benson residence. He could clearly hear the shouts of the Benson boys from where he is. He hasn't finished checking papers and he didn't really want to go to this dinner since he wants to focus his energy on finishing the mission. But then, his neighbors are their suspects. They are part of the mission.

He walked up the front door and rang the doorbell. He hopes that the Benson children will appreciate the basket of fruits he will give them.

A few minutes later, the door was opened by a gangly boy with golden brown hair and hazel eyes. Roan is beside him.

"Hi, Mr. Brennen." Roan pulled him in. "That's Yuan." He said motioning towards the older boy who closed the door.

"Hello, Yuan."

The boy just nodded his head in acknowledgement and went out of the room. A few minutes later, Pitte Benson went in. He looked at his son.

"Roan, your mother needs help in the kitchen. Your brother is also there." He added. Roan always makes a fuss when he is "ordered" to help while Yuan isn't.

The little boy looked at Jack and smiled. He looked at his father and then skipped out of the room.

"Hey, you're prompt." Pitte said and motioned Jack to take a seat.

"Uh, these are for everyone." Jack said and gave the basket to his host.

Pitte smiled. "Could I get you anything? A drink maybe?"

Jack shook his head. "I'm fine, thank you."

"I'll just get this to the kitchen."

Pitte left, giving Jack an opportunity to look around the living room. There were a couple of picture frames, and every one of them shows the family. There were no pictures of Pitte alone or of Elaine alone. They were all family pictures.

'It makes you wonder.' He thought, taking one of the pictures of the three children. It seems to have been taken in somewhere in the countryside.

Productive noises are now coming from the kitchen. It seems that Roan was relegated the job of setting the table. He can clearly hear Roan complaining about it.

"That was taken in Italy." Pitte casually said as he strolled in his living room. "The kids had a wonderful time there."

Jack set down the picture frame. "So, are you going to the black tie affair where the whole faculty was invited?" this is the only subject he could think of. According to Sloane, Angel and Athena will be appearing in this affair, a charity ball for one of the hospitals the University is sponsoring. Everyone was invited, even the faculty. The CIA is now planning that they go there too, to be have an ID of their cyber terrorists.

"Yeah."

They started to talk about it. Jack feels so uncomfortable with the situation. He hasn't been to this kind of "friendly dinner" with the neighbors. And even before, he always had Irina with him. Irina was always the one who keeps the conversation going.

"Uh, Uncle Pitte? Aunt Laine is calling you."

Jack looked up and saw Alexia Vadison standing by the doorway. 'Did she just call Pitte Benson, uncle?' he hid his surprise.

"Oh, James, my niece, Lex." Pitte said, introducing the teenager to his guest.

"Uncle Pitte, he's our Physics teacher."

Pitte looked at him and then back to Alexia. "Oh, I didn't know."

"Aunt Laine said it's important." She stressed when Pitte took his sweet time getting off the couch. Pitte just smiled at his niece and ruffled her hair when he went out.

She made a face at her uncle. He always treats her like she's still five or younger. She then looked at Jack who looked back at her. They both have the same thought running in their minds.

'This is dinner is going to be interesting.'

x-x-x-

Frank Sinatra crooned his heart out in a very low volume. Aside from Frankie, the only noise in the room is the steady humming of the air conditioner.

Jack is in the warehouse, waiting for Marshall's call. After dining with the Benson's last night, he called Marshall and instructed him to pull up the Benson's and the Vadison's files.

The whole dinner was just crazy. The children were charming and very manageable when they are separate from each other but when together… they were all talking at the same time. They also teased and fought in front of the food. Alexia didn't join in, but didn't try to reign in her cousins. Their parents handled it very well, but he has a feeling that the children are worse when there's no guest around.

'Crazy…'

He took one of the papers he brought with him and began to check it. He will not kill time by staring into space.

'Hmm… she has a point but there are several flaws in her reasoning… she's sarcastic, too- wait a minute…' Jack looked at the name of the student who passed the paper. The handwriting is extremely familiar, but he knows that it's not because the student passed assignments before.

LEX VADISON

'Yes, this student hasn't passed any assignment before.' He took his briefcase and opened it. He took out the files before taking out the false bottom. It revealed several leafs of paper, all of which were given to him by Irina. The papers were analysis of Rambaldi text.

He compared it side by side. They were the same stroke, the same way of writing the letters h, s and f. An ordinary person could see that the handwritings are similar.

'This is too much of a coincidence.'

His phone rang.

"Yes?"

"_Mr. Bristow, I got what you asked for."_

"And?"

"_Well, there's no information about a Dan, Danny or a Daniel Benson. The parents have a clean record both here and in Switzerland- you do know that they lived there until the twins were two? Anyway, the interesting part is that the people that could probably verify their identities are either dead or…well, struck with Alzheimer's"_

Jack just grunted when Marshall paused.

"_The Vadison's on the other hand…well their mother is in Italy. The teenagers' files are clean. Too clean actually, so I did a little checking. Again."_

Jack only raised a brow when he heard Marshall's findings. "Is that so?" he asked, pushing the papers aside.

"_Yes, but that doesn't really mean they're behind all this. It just means that they're very… naughty children." Marshall answered. _If his baby Mitchell grew up to be as naughty as the Vadison siblings, he'll not know what to do.

"Thank you, Marshall."

Jack ended the call and took Alexia Vadison's paper. This is the first assignment she had passed to him.

He then took the analysis of the Rambaldi text.

"_I have geniuses by my side."_

Geniuses.

Alexia Vadison's IQ hovers well above genius. But so does her roommates.

_Birds of the same feather flock together?_

Jack sighed in frustration. The whole mission is infuriating him.

He took his cell phone again, but this time contacting the surveillance team. The other line was picked up after the first ring.

"Weiss, I want you to focus on Alexia Vadison… yes, I want more agent to keep check on her."


	16. Flashback, 1983

**NOT CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

_1983, Moscow_

The harsh November weather is spreading desolation to the people as they lined up for their necessities. They didn't try to push each other in the line. The weather is too damn cold and _they_ are watching them.

The biting wind whipped them and they shuddered uncontrollably. The rags they are bundled in fail to protect them from the cold. Their patience is wearing thin and yet they stayed. They will brave the weather to get what they need. The torture the weather is putting on them is nothing as long as they and their family will have something to eat for dinner.

Irina Derevko is walking on the streets. Every step she takes is a stab at apathy. She can see and hear what the people are going through but she is keeping her heart closed. If she is the same person she was thirteen years ago, she might have felt different. If she is the same person she was thirteen years ago, she would have wanted to change this situation.

But this situation is inescapable. Nothing can change it. And, unfortunately, that person from thirteen years ago isn't naïve or that idealistic anymore. Destroying America wouldn't do any good to them. True, they have corruption. True, they're power hungry, but the USSR is the same. The difference between the two countries is that more people die of hunger in this country than it does in that country.

She didn't want to come back. Not until the situation has changed. She is an agent for her motherland, an agent who loves her country and its people. And it seems like she's the only one who genuinely cares for the people suffering in the cold to get their basic necessities.

_Do you really care for the people? Or the people you left in the capitalist country? Do you love the people here? Or the people there?_

Poison! Her thoughts are poison. She looked around. Can they see what she's thinking? Will take Nadia away from her again if they see her thoughts?

_Stop being paranoid, Irina._

_Yes, but if they know you're thinking about him, Nadia's gone._

The wind blew and her eyes watered, both from the emotions and the cold. She will not break down in the streets. They are watching her.

Fear. She lived with this ever since her extraction. She had too much to lose and her superiors capitalized on this, knowing full well that her priorities have changed. They thought fear will break her down, that fear will weaken her.

They were wrong. Fear didn't weaken her, but it made her feel tired. Tired of everything.

She embraced it, fed on it. She used fear to make them think that she's bending to their will. How many times had she given them false intel? How many times had she acted that she's the Irina Derevko they knew a decade ago?

She's actually back to pretending someone she's not. She's pretending to be the loyal, idealistic Russian agent who ceased to exist ten years ago.

_You don't love them. He was just a mission. He doesn't love the real you._ This mind exercise works but it's a draining process.

_He knows who you are. He knows. He knows. He knows._ The words echoed in her head. This is the downside of the exercise. There's always a small voice that refutes everything she tells her self. Silencing it is the most exhausting part of the day. But all conflicts vanish when her daughter's face just lights up in a smile.

She has her now. As long as she keeps on pretending, Nadia will be with her. And she will have the same comfort and security that Sydney has. She will move heaven and earth to make sure she will.

The winds blew again and lashed Irina's thin body. She shivered uncontrollably. The ratty clothes are useless against the merciless weather.

'Just a few more blocks…'

Her superiors gave her a short break. Two months in fact. On the first day of January, she will be on active duty, but she has been re-training and re-training. It's making her sense that she is becoming lethal again. It's one of the feelings she welcomes.

The familiar sidewalk appeared in front of her. Her destination is near.

This is also the first time she'll be seeing her family. Her father, a KGB senior officer arranged the situation with Nadia. He helped her with it. It seems that he still cares for her even with what she's done. Nadia's also stayed with them when they took her from prison.

She rounded the corner. Tears formed her eyes when she saw the old house standing proudly on the curb. For the first time again, in thirteen years.

She hurried up the steps and knocked on the door twice. It was opened a few minutes later, by a woman.

"Irushka?" The emotions in her voice are so discernable.

Irina wrapped her arms around the woman's neck. Tears began to flow out of her eyes when the woman hugged her back.

"Mama."

x-x-x-

He watched her through his binoculars. She's chopping wood for the fireplace. She looks so thin that he thinks that the axe weighs more than her. Seriously.

He has located her after almost two years of searching. And he found her sequestered in the outskirts of Russia, as thin as paper, and as scraggly as a street dog. He didn't expect this. She left him, the KGB should have put her in the pedestal.

He's been monitoring her for almost three weeks now. She rarely comes out, except for a little wood chopping, but when she does, she always has something bundled with her. She'll come home a few hours later with bags of things and then goes out again. She leaves the house again and an hour later, comes back, with the same bundle of things with her. He doesn't exactly know what she brings out with her since he cant come any closer.

But he's going to show himself to her. One of these days…

The seemingly innocent breeze sliced his face with its coldness. He looked at her again and wondered how she could bear it. Her clothes don't seem to protect her at all.

x-x-x-

The eighteen-month old baby is sitting on her high chair, playing with the wooden blocks in front of her. Both the high chair and her playthings were made by her grandfather. She's also 'talking' to her mother.

Irina smiled at the black-haired child. She named her Nadia-hope. Her hope. The only person who made her retain a part of her compassionate heart after she tried to bury Jack and Sydney's memories. The black-haired, fair skinned child with an amazing smile is the light in her dreary existence.

She's small, smaller than Sydney was when she was born. But she will grow up to be a strong and independent woman. She will raise her right.

The aroma of the soup she's cooking began to fill the kitchen. Irina started to mix it, while at the same time keeping an eye on her daughter, who is near the table and a couple of feet away from the actual cooking area.

They live in a one bedroom, one bathroom house a few kilometers away from the city. The living room and the kitchen cum dining room is has a wall dividing them and gives the feeling that they're living in a house. They don't have any neighbors, the nearest one is a house by the city and every time she needs to go out of the house, she has to bring Nadia along, swaddled in clothes.

_This is a test. They want you to fail. We have to disappoint them._

Irina added the minced carrots. She looked out the window. It's already dark and snowing. And in a few minutes, she and Nadia will be having dinner which consists of soup, bread and milk (for Nadia) and tea (for her). She made the soup good enough for three just in case Nadia's still hungry but the bread is good enough for two.

She set the stove on low and took the bowls from the cupboard. She went towards the table and set it for use. She needs to do this quickly. Hot food gets cold after a few minutes in the December weather.

She soothingly called Nadia and set aside her toys. "Its time to eat, sweetie." She whispered in Russian and tied the bib on the baby's neck. She doesn't encounter problems with Nadia. She does have temper tantrums but that happens rarely. When it happens, though, Irina couldn't help but feel powerless when it happens. The child has the famous Derevko temper.

She took the bowl and filled it with soup. She returned and sat down near Nadia.

"Busk, shusk?" Nadia said. Irina smiled and stroked the child's head and started to spoon feed the baby.

A loud knock came on the door. Irina looked out in the window. It's really dark outside. Who in the right mind will venture out in this darkness? Especially during December?

Irina made Nadia eat another spoonful of the soup before setting the bowl out of the child's reach and replacing it with the wooden blocks Nadia was playing with before dinner. She then stood up and hurried towards the door. Irina opened it a little and peeked outside.

"Who is it?"

"Dobriy Vyecher." The low voice answered. "I'm looking for a place to stay for the night. This is the only house I've seen in the past four miles and I have come a long way to fetch my wife and son in Moscow."

Irina opened the door a little bit wider. A tall man with a bushy beard and mustache and wide shoulders is standing on the porch looking at the gap between the doors. His fur cap is covered with snow—actually, he's covered with it.

She suspiciously looked at him. How did he travel? Roll on the ground?

'Was he sent to check on me and Nadia?' she thought as her heart started to race. _"I have come a long way to fetch my wife and son in Moscow…"_

She weighed her options and quickly decided on it. Irina opened the door wider. "Come in."

"Bal'shoye spaseeba." He stomped off the snow before he entered the house. The warmth of the living room and the kitchen is like a breath of fresh air for him.

"Warm yourself in the fireplace." Irina said as she closed the door. She left him standing by the coat stand, confident that there is nothing valuable to steal inside the house. If he's going to kill her, well too bad, because she's going to make sure that he's going to die first.

She hurried back towards Nadia, who didn't mind that her dinner was interrupted. She likes playing. She likes it better than eating.

"Sweetie, time to eat again." Irina once again cleared the toys and took the bowl. It's already warm.

She broke the bread and started to feed her daughter. Nadia is cooperative. She's not refusing a spoonful of soup or a piece of bread. A few minutes later, she finished everything.

"Dobriy, mama." Nadia remarked. It was followed by syllables that could maybe pass off as words.

Irina smiled and gently wiped the child's mouth. Nadia smiled back.

She stood up and placed the bowl on the sink. She took Nadia's milk bottle that she heated by boiling water and got herself dinner. She walked back to the table and handed gave the bottle to Nadia. She immediately placed it in her mouth and started to drain it of milk.

Irina watched for a few minutes before eating. She then realized that she has a guest in the living room. When she looked up to call him, she found already by the doorway, staring at them.

"Your daughter?" he asked in an odd tone. Irina nodded. She can now clearly see him. His black hair is long and wavy and his bear is very unkempt. His eyes are blue but he looks extremely familiar.

_He looks like Jack._

'STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM!' her thoughts screamed as she averted her eyes away from him. 'If this man is indeed KGB, and figures out what's going on in your head, he'll take Nadia away from you. Just stop!'

"What is her name?" He asked and took a step closer to them.

"Nadia."

He then looked around. "And your husband?"

Irina always expects this question whenever she goes out with Nadia in tow. She expects the question, but it always makes her feel uncomfortable.

"He died… in a train accident." She decided to change the subject. She motioned him to sit down and she asked, "Have you had dinner?"

He shook his head. "No, but I did bring food with me." He said when she stood up to get him a bowl of carrot soup.

Irina didn't say anything but gave the bowl and spoon to him. He brought out a small paper bag. In it were a piece of bread, an apple and nuts.

"Does Nadia eat apples?"

Irina looked at Nadia and then to the apple in his hand. "I haven't tried. She only has two pairs of teeth. Two at the top and two at the bottom." The moment she said that, Nadia finished her milk. She smiled at her mother and then to their visitor after Irina took the bottle from her hands. Nadia sometimes throws things around.

He nodded his head. She discreetly stared at him before eating. And they were quiet. The only noise in the dining room/kitchen is Nadia's baby talk. Irina didn't talk to him and instead focused her attention on her dinner and on her daughter.

"My name is Pyotr." He said after a few minutes.

Irina tore her eyes away from Nadia and looked at him. They forgot to introduce themselves? She forgot to ask him his name? "Irina."

"What do you do?"

Irritation flashed in her eyes, but she quickly masked it. "I'm a teacher." Actually, if my guess is right, then we're both KGB agents. Stop asking me questions!

"What do you teach?"

"Literature." The tone she adopted says, _'drop this matter now or may vultures attack you day and night'_. His intrusion is bothering her.

Pyotr nodded, but he didn't seem to get the message of her tone. "What did your husband do before he died?"

"You are in my home, PYOTR. I should be the one who's asking you questions." Irina answered coldly. _Huge, hungry, blood thirsty vultures_.

He gave an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. You just remind me of someone I was close to…"

She raised a brow. 'Who, your mother?' she thought wryly. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when Nadia started to cry.

Irina quickly stood up and scooped Nadia from the high chair. She realized that the baby needs to have her diapers changed.

"Help yourself with the soup." She said and left the kitchen with the crying Nadia in tow.

Pyotr watched her leave. _She's strong_, he mused. _But the pain is there…_

_-x-x-x- _

She gave him the bedroom to sleep in. Irina told him that she and Nadia sleep in the living room because the warmth of the fireplace is better than the warmth of the heater. That was before she said that she doesn't like to stay in the bedroom and that she doesn't like waiting in line for gas.

She doesn't talk much and quite robotic when answering except when the topic ventures to her daughter. Her face lights up whenever they talk about her. He also noticed that she's very thin. She looks so frail that he wonders how she could chop wood. There seem to be a lot of it inside the house.

He scratched his jaw. His beard is such a hassle.

Pyotr stepped out of the bedroom and into the living room, with the observations about this family swirling in his head. He first came here for revenge. But everything changed.

He looked around. The hand crafted crib is a few feet away from the fireplace. He could see that Nadia is already asleep. The cot beside the cradle is empty. His eyes looked for Irina. She is sitting on the worn couch, her hands covering her face. She is crying.

Pyotr approached her. "Are you okay?"

She stiffened. "Its just exhaustion, Pyotr." She lied and wiped the tears away from her face. She looked at him. "You have an early day tomorrow."

"Oh, yes. I was just checking if you're still awake." His comment made her raise a brow, so he continued. "I want to thank you. I might be gone when you wake up tomorrow."

Irina sighed. "You're welcome."

Pyotr smiled and started to walk away from her. He stopped by the crib, though. Nadia is bundled with blankets, sleeping soundly. The child exudes innocence.

He smiled. Pyotr looked back to Irina and said goodnight.

Nightmares plagued her in her sleep. They were horrible nightmares about death and its scaring her witless. They occur every night and it jolts her awake almost every hour.

This night is not an exception. After three hours of sleep, she jerked away from slumber with her heart racing and her forehead riddled with beads of sweat. They were trying to kill them. She wouldn't allow it, but they succeeded. They laughed at her and killed her too.

Irina tried to even her breathing. _It's not going to happen. They're safe_. If she doesn't calm down, she'll have to go out and chop wood again. She looked towards Nadia's direction.

She wasn't there.

The fear that was inflicted by her nightmare doubled. _Pyotr… he took her_. Irina frantically stood up and rushed towards the bedroom. The door is wide open and he isn't outside.

Hysteria bubbled in her throat. She almost ran outside the house.

And that's when he heard him. His voice. His soothing deep voice. And he's in the kitchen.

Jack couldn't describe the feelings swirling inside him. He's holding Nadia, his child, Sydney's little sister. And she is so beautiful.

_I have two beautiful daughters. _He thought as he quietly talked to the baby in English. Nadia is looking at him, and touching his face like he's some sort of a new toy. She then tugged his ear. He chuckled as he gently touched the little hand.

"Nya ma plo?" Nadia said. Jack smiled and tenderly touched her nose with his fingertip. His daughter smiled at him and imitated his action.

"Papa." He whispered. "I'm papa."

Irina doesn't know what to do. Jack has Nadia. HE KNOWS. Her superiors were right. _They were right, why didn't you listen to them?_ She clenched her hand. How will she make him go away?

Jack looked at his watch. "Hmm… three minutes." He said to no one in particular and went towards the stove. He turned off the water he is heating and took off the cover. Jack then carefully took out the milk bottle and set it on the counter.

"Your mama taught me how to re-heat milk." He said and placed Nadia on her high chair. He tested its temperature, making sure that it's not too hot, before handing the bottle to her.

He watched her drink it. Babies drinking milk from the bottle never fails to fascinate him. His daughter… he couldn't believe it…

"You had your fun. Now, please leave." Irina made sure her voice didn't crack when she spoke in English. Her heart bled when she saw how Jack interacted with Nadia, knowing that if she makes him go, she will be denying her daughter a father.

He turned and looked at her. "I'm not going without her."

His words assaulted her. This is the day she dreaded. The day she feared but thought will never happen. Fear blocked the air from passing through and tears are blinding her.

"You will leave if you know what's good for you." _And for us_, she mentally added. She stepped forward. "You will not take my daughter away from me."

Jack knew she's afraid. For her safety, for Nadia's safety, for his and Sydney's safety. She has so much to contend with and yet she still managed to make Nadia healthy, happy. He kept quiet as Irina went on.

"She doesn't need you. She's going to be fine without you." She's trying to convince herself that they will be fine without him. There is a hint of panic and desperation in her voice. "Leave, please."

"I'm not going to leave."

Irina felt her control on her temper snap. _Can't you see that they'll kill you? They'll kill you and me if they find out you will take Nadia._ She took a step at him and threw a punch.

Jack didn't try to block it, thus receiving the full force of her fist. It made him step back. She tried to hit him again when he took hold of her wrist. He will never underestimate her again, even if she looks very… unhealthy.

"Irina. Stop it."

"No…" she started to shake. She thought fear will make her strong. Its making her very weak.

"Mama?" that stopped her. Irina looked at the child and found her watching them.

Jack loosened his grip on her and she immediately went towards their daughter. She lifted her up and kissed Nadia on the forehead. Nadia rested her head on her mother's shoulder and promptly fell asleep a few minutes later.

_She's safe… she's safe…_ Irina wonders if the same paranoid thoughts races in every Russian mother every night. Jack's presence is making her more afraid of the KGB.

_Wait, what if, that's not really him? What if Jack's really in LA and having lunch with Sydney? What if this is just a poor copy the KGB created so that they can take Nadia away from her?_

She hurriedly went out of the kitchen and into the bedroom. She closed the door and locked it.

Jack followed her. He was surprised that she hid from him. Irina never hides from anything. Even to her secret police. He thought wryly. Since he knew how paranoid the KGB could be, he placed bug scramblers to throw off any listening devices installed in the house.

He didn't expect that she'll be afraid of him. Well, a little trepidation, but not the kind that he's seen in her face and in her actions. He first came here to confront her about her betrayal. She said she loved him, but why did she leave? He knew of her affiliations with the KGB but that didn't deter him from loving her. She knows he would have helped her if she was in trouble.

His mind has changed. He has decided that he will take her and Nadia away from this place and make his family whole again. How he would do that, he doesn't know, but he will take them away from here.

Jack, with patience in stride, knocked on the door. "Irina, we need to talk."

"No, we don't. Leave. Now." Came a muffled reply.

"I will not leave until I get answers."

A few minutes later, the door opened and she stepped out. She closed the door and leaned on it. "You don't need answers. You already have them."

"I need to hear it from you." Jack replied. He can see her eyes and there is suspicion, dread and desperation in them. "I want to know why you didn't tell me that you're going to be extracted. You should have told me. I could have helped."

Irina can hear the emotions in his tone. The KGB copy of Jack Bristow is very good. "You're not him. What is your real name? Tell you superiors that they don't have to worry about me. They extracted Irina Derevko and not Laura Bristow." She paused. Her tone is starting to crack.

She jutted her chin. "Now leave the house and never show your face to me again because if you do, I will kill you."

Jack gaped at her. 'You're not him…?' He took off his fake beard and mustache. A three-week old stubble is the closest thing he has for a beard. "It's me."

Irina just stared. _No, the KGB is just really good with masks. Its not him_. "You fooled me and your fun has ended. Go and leave." He pushed him away and was about to open the door when he took her by her shoulders and whirled her around to face him.

Jack kissed her.

His lips were demanding and yet gentle. Her spine tingled when his hand brushed her back.

It was short. But it was enough.

Tears began to form in her eyes. "You can't do anything. They know everything. Just go and they'll leave you and Sydney in peace."

Anger began to show itself to Jack. She's pushing him away. "Stop it, Irina. Don't let it take over you." Fear has different effects on different people. Irina embraced fear and he doesn't why. He knows she views it as a weakness. "It's not making you strong. It's stopping you."

She looked at him for a few minutes. "They forcibly extracted me because I was pregnant again and I refused to give them intel. I killed one of the agents who tried to take me and I drove my car off the bridge to escape them. In that way, if I'm dead, they won't harm you and Sydney anymore."

Jack took her in his arms. "I wish you told me they wanted to extract you." he kissed her neck. "Sydney is missing you. I missed you." Irina's crying. He can feel her tears in his shoulder. His eyes stung and he tightened his embrace.

They stood there in front of the bedroom door, crying.

"You need to rest." Jack said after a few minutes.

"I don't want to sleep in that bedroom." Irina answered. "I have to get Nadia."

"I'll get her." He kissed her again and ushered her to the living room. Jack went back and took the sleeping Nadia from the bed.

Fifteen minutes later, Irina is sound asleep beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. He, on the other hand, is awake, thinking.

She doesn't belong in the United States and he doesn't belong here. He has to find a place where they can both be home.

Somewhere neutral.

Like Switzerland.


	17. sixteen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters except for the original ones, so please don't sue. Thank you and have a nice day.

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

Nadia hung her raincoat to dry and walked into the room. She found Weiss diligently poring over transcripts and reports filed by agents who followed Alexia Vadison. Jack ordered that they focus on her and they did—they lessened the agents on the other girls and put their attention to Vadison and her extended family.

The surveillance was originally by threes. Jack took two agents out of those three and spread them out so that they can follow the two Benson adults and Alexia Vadison extensively.

Jack deliberately left her out, again. She's stuck following Dylan Xavier.

"How did it go?" Weiss asked and looked up from the papers. He sensed her presence.

Nadia took off her wet shoes and walked towards him, barefoot. "Expect drunken revelry tonight. Dylan just dumped her boyfriend. Genny, who tagged along to give her moral support is suggesting they get drunk as some sort of celebration."

"She finally dumped her two-timing boyfriend?"

Nadia plopped down the couch beside his chair. "Yes."

They knew about the cheating boyfriend even before Dylan did. Nadia sighed and massaged her temple. She then tried to concentrate on the images being produced by the surveillance cameras.

"_Where'd you put the booze?" Genny gleefully shouted._

This time, Weiss sighed. "I do hope somebody stops her." he does not want to witness drunk teenage girls dancing naked on screen. It happened before (but not with these girls) and he doesn't want that to happen again.

"_We don't have any alcoholic drinks here, Genny. Well, except for wine." Eoclin answered. "Ask Lex later. If they win the championship game, she'll probably buy the beer for you."_

Weiss felt relieved. There is no way Alexia Vadison will agree to that. He went back to the transcripts and continued his work.

x-x-x-

(A few hours later)

"Vaughn, I think it's going to fall on us any minute." Sydney remarked looking at the dancing picture frames tacked on the walls. It seems the radio inside their neighbors' house is in full blast. She stood up and started to take the frames off.

Vaughn also stood up and helped her. "Weiss said they'd be having a party."

"In such short notice? And all their guests appreciate Broadway musicals?"

He shrugged. "I'll ask them to tone down the volume." Vaughn walked towards the front door and stepped out of the hallway.

A few hours ago, he watched Alexia Vadison play in her soccer game, the championship for the league they joined. Since it was raining, the whole field was muddy. She and her teammates plus several spectators (including him…) got covered with mud.

Their competition was fierce and played dirty—they tried to take out almost all the good players in UCSF's team. And that included the one and only goal keeper. Vaughn saw first hand how hard Alexia Vadison's back hit the metal goal. He was really surprised that she still stood up and continued playing.

Vaughn stopped in front of their door and knocked on it. He could clearly the Phantom of The Opera loudly singing his heart out and laughter. It's a good thing that they are the only people who live in this floor.

They didn't hear him so he knocked again. The laughter inside the room only got louder.

He raised his hand again to knock the third time, but before his fist hit the door, it opened.

"Wha..? Mr. Patterson?"

Alexia Vadison, who is holding a tall glass of chocolate milk spiked with vodka is looking at his clenched hand. "Why are your fist raised?" she asked, her words, a bit slurred and her British accent, even more pronounced.

"Uh, I was going to knock." He lowered his hand and looked inside the apartment. "Could you tone down your radio, please?"

She smiled at him. "Suuuure." She answered and opened the door wider. "Come in first."

Vaughn warily stepped in. he can see that the girls are sitting in the middle of the living room, forming a circle together. Bottles of assorted liquors are in the middle of the circle.

"Hello, Mr. Patterson." Genny greeted. A bottle of beer is in her hand.

Vaughn weakly smiled. 'Underage drinking…'

A few minutes later, the radio was turned down and Alexia appeared by his side again. "I was going to go to your apartment to ask you a question, but since you're here…" she took a gulp from her glass. "Do you know a pizza place that delivers?"

"You're going to call them?"

The alarm in his voice went unnoticed to the girls.

"Uh, yes?" she smiled again. "We won. I didn't let them watch the game. So I'm going to treat them to six boxes of pizza!"

The roommates gave a sound of approval.

"Yeah, _pare_, cos the best things in life are _libre_!" Deia said and laughed.

"Especially when you're inebriated." Nasha added and joined her friend in her laughter.

The others followed suit. Even Alexia.

Vaughn can clearly see the difference between the sober, serious girls and the drunk, giddy girls. And apparently, Alexia is the sanest of the six if she's going to call pizza delivery.

"Uh, why not us do the calling for you?" Vaughn suggested. Who knows what these girls will say on the phone.

Alexia giggled. "We don't have a phone here." She said. "And I'm not going to threaten them or anything."

"We have a phone in our apartment."

The girl nodded her head. "Can I just stay with you until the pizza people arrive?"

Vaughn nodded. Alexia, who is still holding the vodka spiked chocolate milk, gave her friends a small wave and ushered 'Mr. Patterson' to the door. On their way out, Eoclin called out to them in French, saying that she'll be cooking if the pizza doesn't arrive within twenty minutes. Vaughn understood it, and hoped that Weiss is already dialing the nearest pizzeria

"Don't you dare step into the kitchen Eoclin. Or I'll set it on fire myself." Alexia shouted.

He looked at her, surprised. "You understand French?"

"Doesn't everybody?" she asked it in a way that made Vaughn think that she believes all people are multi-lingual.

"What other languages do you understand?" he asked, curious.

"Understand or know how to speak?" she asked as Vaughn steered her inside the apartment.

Sydney is sitting on the sofa, reading a book when she heard him come in.

"Vaughn—"

"Who's Vaughn?"

Sydney's head snapped towards the direction of the voice. Her mind raced as she tried to think of an excuse. The girl is looking at her, curious.

"Uh, Vaughn is Matthew's brother." She looked at him. "Vaughn called a while ago."

He nodded his head. "I'll call him later." He gave the girl a small push in the arm. "Have a seat; I'll call your pizza for you."

"Uh, two with lots of veggies, two Hawaiian and two with lots of meat." She wrinkled her nose. "Nasha and Dylan like the one with lots of vegetables. I don't know why."

He smiled, "Go have a seat first."

The girl carefully walked towards Sydney and sat beside her. She took off the big wallet in her pocket that has been bothering her for hours and set it on the coffee table. "My wallet's really fat." She muttered.

"What's inside?" Sydney asked as she looked at the glass in the Alexia's hand.

"Stuff. Pictures."

Sydney diverted the topic and placed the book she was reading on top of the coffee table, with the wallet and leaned back casually on the sofa, her head turned towards the girl.

"I have to congratulate you for winning. How's your back?"

Alexia, even though the alcohol has diluted her control over her tongue, managed to raise a brow. "How did you know about that?"

"Somebody watched the game and told me." Sydney answered. In truth, she didn't know about the game. She was too busy being both a teacher and a CIA agent. Vaughn told her about the game.

The girl made a face. "Oh…'" she took a swig from her glass. "Uh, I have a big bruise colored yucky blue but its fine." She brought the glass to her lips again. She didn't mention that it hurts like hell too.

"What are you drinking?"

Alexia grinned. "Its chocolate vodka." She took one last gulp from the glass and then stood up. "I'll go and get s'more."

Sydney stood up and made sure that the girl reached their apartment safely. She could hear the roommates laughing their hearts out in the other room. When she went back to the sofa, she realized that Alexia left her wallet in the coffee table.

She took it and inspected the contents. There were five different kinds of ID's, loads of cash, three credit cards and a lot of pictures. It was mostly of her and her friends, but Sydney found an interesting photograph that might strengthen their case against Alexia Vadison.

Sydney took the picture and hid it. She then placed the wallet back to its original position. A few minutes later, the girl returned, this time holding a very big glass of her drink.

"Hullo… want to have a sip of my drink?"

x-x-x-

Irina walked into the kitchen and headed straight to the refrigerator. She has just finished her resistance training.

She is relishing her freedom. She relishes the fact that she can move around and do whatever she wants (except the things that might make the fatigue come back), she can eat and drink whatever she wants (except for alcoholic beverages and caffeine) and she can go out of the house and let the sun kiss her face (but not when its going to border being burned by the sun)

She feels so refreshed. And hungry for breakfast. She hasn't felt like this in months.

Before she could reach the metal fridge, the French doors that lead to the patio opened. A puppy scrambled in, his tongue lolling out. A teenage boy followed the puppy inside a few minutes later.

Nathan saw his mother standing in the middle of the room, looking amusedly at the dog.

"Mama. You're awake." Ever since he can remember, he and his sister called their mother a different name. Mama for him and mom for her.

Irina looked at Nathan. He is wearing an old shirt and jogging pants which clearly showed his athletic physique. He is also sweating, indicating to her that he went for a jog with the puppy in tow.

"Good morning to you too." The puppy ran around her, its golden fur rubbing in her ankles. "Where is the dog Iya was afraid of?"

Nathan shrugged. "That was Martin's dog. He took it home." He answered as he took the puppy's dish from the cupboard. "This is Iya's puppy." He filled the dish with water and then set it on the floor. The little dog quickly ran towards it.

"Does she know she has a puppy?" Irina asked as she went towards the refrigerator. Nathan's very generous but when he gives a person something, for example a puppy, he sometimes forgets to inform that person about it.

"Yes, she does." He answered. "I'll do breakfast today, mama." He said and ushered her to a chair. He gave her a bright smile and hurriedly went towards the stove.

Irina can sense that he's hiding something from her. Nathan could be lying about Sofya knowing about the puppy, but maybe there's another reason why he's acting so skittish. She'll figure it out, sooner or later.

She looked at the golden retriever and then to Nathan, who is washing his hands. "What's the puppy's name?"

"What else? Frasier." Nathan answered, turning on the stove. He gave the puppy to his sister when he drove her to the airport. It was his bribe to her. "Doesn't it bother you that all of Iya's pets are named Frasier?"

"No."

An amused sound escaped him. "Why not?" he began to crack the eggs in the pan.

"It's her decision, not ours." Irina answered. "She only had three different pets before the dog. If you're going to give her another goldfish, I'm going to doubt she's going to name it Frasier again."

Nathan shrugged and continued to cook the eggs. A few minutes later, he had cooked four eggs, has a plate full of toasted bread and a pitcher of orange juice.

He placed it on the table and gave his mother a big portion.

"So, mama," he started "do you have any plans to go to the firing range today?"

Irina thought for a while. "I might. Why?"

"Nothing." Nathan answered, he's already thinking about some of the things he needs to finish. "I might join you."

Irina smiled and continued eating. Nathan is planning to do something that he doesn't want her to know about. He's continually distracting her that its making it obvious.

"Mama, there's a soccer game you might want to watch…"


	18. seventeen

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters, except for the original ones, so please don't sue. Thank you and have a nice day.

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

Vaughn looked at his reflection in the mirror and tried to fix his tie. "Sloane managed to put us all in one table? Including Sark?" He turned to look at Sydney and found her clasping pearls in her ears. She looks so beautiful in her simple read evening gown.

"Yes, even Sark. It seems that his old connections still work." She went towards him and started to help fasten his tie in place. "Let me help you with this."

"There will be dancing tonight, right?"

She nodded her head. "Sark will be meeting him or her when it begins." She patted the bowtie and turned him around to face the mirror. "Much better."

Vaughn smiled. "Thanks" and then buttoned his cufflinks. "The protocol makes you wonder what kind of connections Angel and Athena has. He or she knows the itinerary of the whole dinner."

"It's the Zagmun connection." Sydney replied. Cole Zagmun, Eoclin's father, is the powerhouse behind the charity dinner for the hospital. Since he is also one of the school's biggest benefactors, he pulled some strings and managed to get the entire University involved.

They learned that everyone will come, even their neighbors, for different reasons. Of course, Eoclin Zagmun was a no-brainer, since she's the daughter of the host. Dylan Xavier will be playing with the San Francisco Philharmonic. Deia Treadcliffe was convinced by her suitors to come while Guinevere Wellington's mother, a doctor, was invited and dragged her daughter along. Nasha Ysidro and Alexia Vadison were bribed and coerced respectively, by their roommates,.

Vaughn took Sydney's coat from the rack and offered his arm.

"Mademoiselle?"

Sydney laughed and took his arm. They strolled towards the door, with their com links in their ears and the rest of the listening devices clipped in their clothes.

They strolled out and found their neighbors locking up.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Patterson." Guinevere greeted. She is wearing a pink gown, and it shimmers every time she moves. Her hair cascades down her shoulders and diamonds glitter in her ears, and wrists.

"Hello, Genny." Sydney greeted. She then looked at the other girls. The very beautiful Nasha, whose black hair is up in a French twist, is wearing a Grecian inspired gown. The gold and amethyst jewelry she is wearing brings out the violet in her eyes.

"Those are beautiful earrings, Mrs. Patterson." Eoclin said. This girl, on the other hand, is wearing a dark green strapless gown that fits her body like a glove. It's definitely a gown to wear if you want to show off a swimmer's body. Gold and diamonds winked at them, and since her hair is up in a chignon, you have no choice but to admire the cool rocks on her ears and neck.

"Thank you. It's an anniversary gift from my husband." She turned to Vaughn and gave him a small kiss.

Vaughn smiled at her and then at the girls.

Alexia Vadison, who is half-turned away from them, is wearing a black halter top gown that compliments her tall, thin body. And for the first time, she ventured out of their apartment wearing her long raven hair down, almost covering her bare back. Silver adorned her ears, neck and arms.

She is also in a very surly mood.

Sydney tried to estimate how much all those jewelry will get in the market. She bets that it can equal to the defense budget of a small country.

"Are you going to be driven by an armored car?" Vaughn joked.

Guinevere laughed. "No." she looked at Eoclin. "But Eoclin's dad hired bodyguards to escort us from here to the dinner and back." Her gaze lingered on Vaughn for a few minutes before turning away.

"Let's go guys." Alexia grumpily said and started to go towards the elevator.

Nasha sighed. She saw Sydney's curious glance and felt that her friend's reaction needs a reason. "Well, Lex didn't want to go but we sort of convinced her. She really gets irritated when she doesn't get what she wants." She explained as the five of them followed Alexia slowly.

"And the fact that we have to touch and cover her bruise that seemed to have invaded her whole back made her temper worse." Eoclin added.

"Yeah, and she's a lot taller than us when she's in those heels. It was like having an argument with a circus freak in stilts."

"I'm SOURLY, Genny. NOT DEAF."

Sydney hid a smile.

"Where are Dylan and Deia?" she asked when they reached the elevator. 

They told them that Dylan had to be there early and since she doesn't know how to drive, Deia drove her.

Both agents looked discreetly at Alexia Vadison. Her mouth is set on a straight line and her eyes blazed with impatience and exasperation.

Every time they can pin something on her, she does something totally opposite of what needs to be done next. This current situation is an example. Angel and/or Athena are supposed to meet Sark in the charity dinner. If Vadison is the contact, she'd want to come. But currently, she's acting like a spoiled, ill-tempered brat who wants to stay home and watch TV.

Vaughn hid his desire to roll his eyes. 'This is getting very complicated.'

-x-x-x-

Jack is standing near the ice sculpture, talking to Pitte and Elaine Benson. He's feeling slightly uncomfortable in his tuxedo but when he looks at the couple in front of him, they seem to be so at ease in their formal wear.

A slight breeze passed by the open-air garden, giving the guests a glimpse of a beautiful night to come.

"This kind of affair brings a certain absurdity in our profession, don't you think?"

Jack gave him a small smile. "The very privileged students bring in their connections."

"You're right." Pitte Benson answered and looked at his wife. "Its fun, once in a while."

"Who's looking after your children?" Jack asked as he sipped on the champagne.

Elaine Benson smiled at the mention of her offsprings. "The baby sitter." She looked at him in the eye, and asked, "Is my niece giving you any trouble in school? Year in and year out, teachers have complained about her… attitude."

Jack shook his head. "No, Alexia hasn't given me any problems. Although I must say, that she has only passed one assignment to me out of ten."

He saw Elaine frown and shake her head. Jack raised the glass of champagne in his lips again and discreetly looked around.

Everyone has arrived except for Sark and Dixon. Sydney and Vaughn are mingling with the other guests while Nadia is posing as a drinks server and she is starting to go towards his position.

"So, you're going to go back to UCLA after next week?" Elaine asked when Nadia neared them. Jack nodded his head and then subtly looked at Nadia.

"More drinks, Sir, Madame?" she asked pleasantly and smiled at them.

She saw a flash of recognition in Pitte Benson eyes, but it was so quick, that it must have been her imagination. He smiled at her and took a flute from her tray.

"Thank you." Pitte let his eyes roam the garden. "Excuse us, James, but I think I see our niece hiding in one corner." He took his wife's elbow and steered her away from Jack and Nadia.

Jack watched them go. He acted not to have seen Pitte Benson's reaction and just turned to Nadia as he placed the empty flute in her tray. "What's your status?"

"He's just arrived." She carefully turned around and continued doing her rounds.

'Why did he look at me like that?' she thought as she offered drinks to the tuxedo-clad old men. One of them gave her a lascivious smile. She responded with a disgusted look on her face.

Jack tasked her to be part of Sark's security detail, meaning that she's one of the agents that will make sure that Sark doesn't try to escape. She has radio contact with everybody, including Dixon.

It seems to her that Jack is trying to rectify a mistake he made when he didn't make her part of her mother's rescue team.

'It's not going to happen here. Too many people…'

Nadia looked at Jack's way. He's standing in the same place she left him, observing the people. Sometimes, she wonders how he does that. The man has a magnitude of a presence and yet, he manages to disappear in a crowd. Like what he's doing now.

She looked around. In the corner of her eye, she saw Dixon and Sark enter the majestic doorway of the garden.  
-x-x-x-

Sark's blue eyes roamed the area, looking for familiar faces. He saw Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn socializing with the guests. A few feet away is Jack Bristow who is by the ice sculpture, observing the people.

He turned towards Dixon, "I see some _friends_."

"Necessary precautions. You do know what that means." Dixon replied.

Sark gave a small laugh. His alias is Damien Lyndale, the name stated in Angel and Athena's protocol. This is the name he's going to introduce himself to the guest. A code phrase will verify his identity to Angel and/or Athena while another coded phrase (stipulated in the protocol) will confirm their hacker's identity.

He walked down the steps. A couple of women turned towards his direction. Sark smiled and took a flute of champagne from one of the servers. Sark looked around, trying to find someone whom can socialize with when he found another familiar face. Someone who knows Mikhail Premenov personally.

Truman.

Sark walked slowly towards him. Truman is in his early twenties and has an easygoing, charming personality. He's not a ruthless killer or a blackmailer. He's just someone really… rich. And bored.

Their eyes met. Recognition showed in Truman's cobalt blue eyes, but Sark immediately averted his eyes from him, a signal that he will not refer to him by his name.

He went towards him. "Excuse me, but you look absolutely familiar." he said to Sark. "We have met before, haven't we? I'm Cedric Averson. The fourth." He added since his father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather are all named Cedric.

Sark shook the hand in front of him. "Damien Lyndale, we met in a computer expo."

"Oh, yes. How could I have forgotten?" he said and flashed him a smile. "And your colleague is…?"

He looked at Dixon. "Ahh… my business partner, Samuel Preston."

Dixon shook Cedric Averson's hand. Averson IV responded to the name Damien Lyndale. But there's still one more thing to verify.

"I'm sorry if you're going to be offended by my straight-forwardness, but what exactly do you do, Mr. Lyndale? I doubt you sell computer parts."

"Actually, I'm a computer programmer. Mr. Preston is funding my insanity." 

Cedric laughed. "Really. You must be the best in the field if Mr. Preston is willing to do that."

"Actually, if you think about it, computer programming is like a walk in the park."

Dixon held his breath. If Cedric Averson IV responds to this with the phrase set in the protocol, they have one-half of their hackers.

Cedric laughed again. "Maybe for you. A lot of people will disagree with you, though." He turned towards Dixon. "Mr. Preston, do you need a programmer a little bit saner than your colleague here?"

Dixon shrugged. "If he's as good as Damien, why not?"

"Oh, I assure you, **she's** as good as him, if not better." He grinned and motioned them to follow him.

He discreetly looked at Sark. 'Why is he here as Damien Lyndale?' he thought as he continued his small talk with them.

Something is up and he doesn't know if he could trust Sark or not.

'Well, he got past Mik. That must mean something.'


	19. eighteen

**A/N-**no beta reader... sorry. Disclaimers still apply... Enjoy

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

Sydney watched as Sark and Dixon followed one of Eoclin's friends, Cedric Averson IV, who led them to the position of the six college girls.

Vaughn leaned towards Sydney. "Am I seeing what I'm seeing?" he whispered. Although their background check on Cedric Gavin Averson IV yielded nothing in their mission to find Mikhail Premenov (although it was proven that Mikhail Premenov stayed in the Zagmun-owned hotel he frequents), they are still wary about the young man's current position in their investigation.

Cedric Averson is from an old-rich clan from New England. He is what they call a "trust fund baby" and is currently being groomed to succeed his father in the family business of banking. Their family is very affluent and if his charm doesn't show it, the roman numerals after his name do.

Cedric tapped Eoclin's bare shoulder.

"Eoclin, may I have a word with you?"

Nadia hovered in the background, still doing her job as a drinks server. She found the love-hate relationship of Eoclin Zagmun and Cedric Averson very interesting. It's like watching a soap opera and fairytale combined. For one thing, you don't see rich and beautiful people ready to tear each other's throats.

Sark looked at the faces of the beautiful girls in front of him. And then, he saw HER.

'Oh, sh-t. If Truman's not the one, it's going to be HER.'

Cedric turned to them and introduced each and everyone in the group. Sark and Dixon shook all of their hands.

Dixon knew their names and has seen their faces in photographs, but this is the first time he has seen them in person. They all have unique and beautiful faces.

"Mr. Preston and Mr. Lyndale are business partners. But Mr. Lyndale is a computer programmer." Cedric started and smiled charmingly at everyone.

"Really? And how old are you, Mr. Lyndale?" Guinevere asked, not hiding her interest in him.

Sark smiled at her. "I'm twenty-four."

"You're a computer programmer? That's a very interesting occupation." Eoclin remarked and looked at Deia. "Our friend's life practically revolves around it."

Dixon felt very out of place with the situation. Everyone in the group is so young and yet… so mature.

"It's like a walk in a park, actually. Computer programming, I mean." Sark said and looked at their reaction.

Amused laughter resonated in the group. Everyone obviously knows how hard programming could be.

"Did you mean Jurassic Park, Mr. Lyndale?"

It was the response stated in the protocol. The exact same words.

Dixon looked at the speaker.

'So, it's her.'

-x-x-x-

Jack ate the three course dinner on the same table as Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon and Sark. They talked about the event, the funds needed by the hospital and a little bit of their mission. To the other guests, the faculty and the board of directors, the people in the table are getting along really well.

Nadia did her rounds. In her earpiece, she could hear bits and pieces of their conversations. She didn't hear Sark's voice the entire dinner. It was as if he had gone mute.

She looked at her watch. If everything goes as plan, and the dancing starts, she'll be stripping off the server clothes and slipping into a formal gown.

'I wonder why there's always dancing in these kinds of black tie affair.' She thought when she saw Cole Zagmun step onstage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I invite you to the dance floor."

Nadia sneaked out of view and disposed of the tray.

-x-x-x-

Sark, now alone, walked towards HER direction, to ask HER to dance with him.

'God help us, why are you here?' his thoughts screamed as he looked at her. She's the only one in the table, watching the people dancing to the music the San Francisco Philharmonic is creating. Truman and Eoclin are together, talking. Dylan is playing the piano, the computer programmer (the real genius—he forgot her name) is flanked by two boys. The other two… disappeared.

He stood in front of her. "Dance with me?"

She looked at him and then stood up. She's wearing heels and they are almost the same height. "Of course, Mr. Lyndale."

Jack is watching them. Finally, this mission is going to be wrapping up in a few days.

'It's been her all along.'

Vaughn and Sydney are dancing. Jack wants to sit back and just listen to Sark's conversation, but he also wants to get a closer look. Sark was quiet the entire time dinner. No sarcastic comments, no nasty one-liners. He was very pensive, actually. And it bothered every one in the table.

His eyes roamed the garden. He saw Nadia stepping in. She ditched the server uniform for a green dress and an auburn wig and she's as stunning as her sister.

A thought crossed his mind. He stood up from his seat and approached his second daughter.

"Would you dance with me?"

-x-x-x-

Nadia could only gape at Jack Bristow's outstretched hands. 'He wants to what? Does he know how to dance?'

She warily took his hand and he led her to the dance floor.

"Wait; do you know how to dance?" Nadia whispered. Jack smiled began to move with the music.

He's a very graceful dancer.

"Wow." Nadia said out loud her thoughts. She looked at him and saw his eyes twinkling in amusement. She has never seen him react like this.

"When you have to go to these kinds of mission, it's a must that you know how to dance." He said softly as they twirled around the dance floor. He discreetly observed her. Nadia looks a lot like her mother. She is also quite petite and this has always surprised him because her father and mother are both tall. But then, Irina did tell him that one of her sisters, Elena, is small.

'Irina…'

She's in his thoughts again.

-x-x-x-

The music is slow as they traverse around the dance floor, as if dancing like there's no tomorrow.

"What are you doing here?" Sark hissed in her ear.

"I'm your contact, Mr. Lyndale." She answered. "Last job too. So, what do you want me to do?"

Sark sighed. "Hack. But I don't have everything right now."

"Predictable." The tone is sarcastic. Sark looked at her and saw the impatience in her eyes.

"Is there anything bothering you?" He asked, raising a brow.

A small but sardonic smile appeared on her face. "Yes, your hand that's been caressing my back in the last few minutes has been bothering me."

Sark lowered his left hand slightly and rested on the top of her butt. "Is this better?"

She glared at him. "Stop it."

He grinned at her. "Or you'll what?"

"I'll tell Mikhail you've manhandled me." She answered in a very saccharine tone. She then leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "That would make a really good reason for him to kick your arse."

Sark raised a brow as he placed his hand on her waist. This elicited a genuine laugh from her.

"I knew that will get you." She teased. "So, when and where?"

"Tomorrow at six pm, in the San Francisco docks, warehouse forty-seven."

She intentionally stepped on his foot. He frowned at her, but she just looked at him with an amused sparkle in her eyes.

"Forty-seven?" she asked. "So, that's all?"

"Yes, that's all." Sark answered. "Don't be late. Please." He added, knowing her tendency to come in a few minutes (or sometimes, hours) tardy.

"I won't." she gave him a smile that reminded him so much of Irina Derevko.

'Big trouble looms ahead, Julian.' He thought as they waltzed.

What they don't know is that the longer they danced and the longer they talked, the larger the cloud of danger grows in their future. He is in danger in the hands of Mikhail Premenov and she, in danger in the hands of the CIA.

-x-x-x-

The music is starting to slow down. He danced with Nadia for two songs because Sark danced with Athena (or Angel) for two songs.

He and Nadia talked. It wasn't the greatest conversation he had with her, but Jack could see that she is a very fine woman, something that wouldn't happen if she grew up with him as her father.

'You're just justifying your decision for putting her in that orphanage.'

She has a wonderful smile. Like Sydney's. A smile that could light up an entire room. It was one of the things he missed seeing. Nadia and Sydney were always smiling when they lived in Switzerland. Back when the family was complete.

'Stop it, Jack.'

"If you still want to dance after this, I suggest you dance with Sydney." Nadia said.

Jack looked at her inquiringly. Nadia sighed. "Well, because she's your daughter?"

_And you're not?_ "I'll go ask her later." Jack answered.

The music came to a stop. Everyone clapped.

Jack turned to Nadia. "Thank you."

She couldn't believe it. Jack said 'thank you'.

"You're welcome."

They parted ways after that. She looked back and saw him approaching Sydney and Vaughn. She smiled and disappeared from view.

In an hour, they will be seeing each other again, in the rendezvous point. They will be planning the Sark meeting.

She's pretty sure he's going to go back to his usual, grumpy self. But while dancing, she couldn't help the feeling that she has a connection with Jack. And it's bothering her a bit.

'Stop thinking about it. It'll pass…'

-x-x-x-  
_  
The late afternoon sun is hiding behind the clouds, making the garden a little bit cooler than usual. _

She's sitting on a tall chair, coloring the pictures with her pretty crayons. She looked behind her and checked on her little brother and sister. Her mama gave her big sister duties because Sydney is still in school. Her mama told her to watch over them while she made their afternoon snack.

"Why aren't you two playing with each other?" she asked when she found Nate and Iya sitting opposite each other, independently playing with their respective toys. She hopped off her seat and walked towards the playpen.

Iya looked at her and then pointed up to the sky.

"-at!"

She looked up and saw a bird soaring up in the sky. She smiled at her little sister. "No, Iya. That's a bird. Not a cat."

"-at!" her sister repeated.

She frowned. Mama told her that it's okay for the twins to call everything by the same name since they're still very young. But she thinks that just wrong.

"Bird, Iya. Bird." She stressed on the word, hoping that her one-year old sister can understand.

Iya scrunched her face. "Buh, ya?"

"Yes, bird." She said enthusiastically. She looked at the direction of the kitchen, to call her mama, but she wasn't there.

"Mama?" she called out. There's no answer. She walked forward slightly, just in case she didn't hear her, and called out again. "Mama?"

A tall figure appeared and went towards her. "Mama's dressing up to fetch Sydney."

Her eyes widened and her face broke into a smile. "Papa!" it has been two weeks since he has been home.

She ran towards him and hugged his knees. He's wearing a suit and tie, both which are very wrinkly. His hair is also quite disheveled.

He lifted her up and kissed her on the forehead. "How is my little star? Were you and Sydney good when Papa was not home?" he asked in a funny tone.

She giggled. "Yes, but Nate and Iya weren't." she smiled at him. "You look really pretty in the suit, papa."

He laughed. "What did Iya and Nate do?"

"They fought." She answered in a matter-of-fact tone. Her father is now carrying her towards the playpen. "I didn't hear you come in, papa."

He grinned at her. "I surprised mama." He said. He is actually surprised Nadia didn't hear them making love in the living room floor. And that is a very good thing.

Nadia grinned back.

"How are my babies?"

This time, she frowned. "But I'm not a baby anymore, papa."

Her father kissed her again. "But you, Sydney, Nate and Iya will forever be mama and my babies."

"Even if we're old?"

Her father shook his head solemnly.

"Why?" she asked. They stopped by the playpen.

He smiled. "Because we love all of you very much."

Nadia woke up in a start.

The dream. It's a new one and more vivid than the others. And it felt very real.

She tried to even her breathing. Jack's her father in her dream again. It seems that every time she and Jack had a chance to talk, those dreams pepper her sleep.

'The dancing last night…'

She doesn't understand this. Why is her subconscious doing this to her? She couldn't confide this to anyone, especially to Sydney. They have their respective fathers. She doesn't think Sydney is willing to share her father with her when she has a father of her own.

'Who wouldn't want Arvin Sloane to be their father?' she thought. Nadia felt tormented. Her subconscious mind is torturing her. 'Uggh, what is going on?'

She rubbed her face with her palm and sighed. She then climbed down the bed and started to stretch.

Nadia heard the kettle whistling outside. Weiss is already awake, making fresh coffee. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needs a cup really bad.

-x-x-x-

"I don't think Jack has any other children besides Syd." Weiss said as he took the cinnamon roll from the paper bag. "Why do you ask?" he looked at her and started to munch on their breakfast.

"Nothing." She took a sip of her coffee and averted her eyes from his. She tried to concentrate on the equipment behind him. When that didn't work, she tried to focus on Weiss' wet black hair.

"Come on Nadia, something is bothering you." Weiss remarked a few minutes later. "I've never seen you drink coffee like that."

Nadia realized she has consumed three cups of coffee in one sitting. Something that hasn't happened before. And she can't remember how she did it.

"Uh, it's not really… it's an uncomfortable issue."

Weiss leaned forwards. The position he took suggested that he's ready to listen.

"I'll not tell."

Nadia raised a brow. "Not even Sydney?" she knows that if Weiss promised that he will keep it a secret, he will keep it a secret.

He raised his right hand. "Boy scout promise. I won't tell anyone."

Weiss watched as she took a deep breath. She looks so exhausted. He had thought that it was because of almost five hours of serving drinks last night, but it also might be because of this issue.

"I had a dream. It's not a nightmare or anything, but…" she began to recount the dream she had, to the last detail.

Weiss listened to every word she said. When Nadia finished, he felt really intrigued.

"There were two other kids? And you called Jack dad?"

Nadia nodded her head. "Every time I dream that Jack is my father, it's always because I get to talk to him."

Weiss clasped his hands together. "Maybe you have issues with your dad."

"Don't be silly, Eric. I don't have issues with my father."

"You have issues with Jack?" he suggested. "Why not… never mind."

"Maybe you're right. The dreams started when I first met him. But how can I have issues with Jack? He's very polite and he keeps his distance, as if he doesn't want anything to do with me."

Weiss just kept quiet. Frankly speaking, if God gave him a chance to choose who gets to be his father, and the choices are Arvin Sloane and Jack Bristow, he'd rather choose not to be born.

Nadia looked at her watch. "Eric, we better get going. We might be late."

Her comment made him look at his watch. She's right. Weiss hurriedly stood up and took the paper bag of cinnamon rolls with him. "You didn't eat anything."

Nadia couldn't help but smile when they left the room. Weiss smiled back at her, although there's this nagging feeling that came with Nadia's disclosure.

'Will she like if I do a little digging?'


	20. nineteen

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

'She's impossible!' he thought as he paid the florist twenty-five dollars for the bouquet of assorted flowers. The formal dinner last night didn't exhaust him; in fact, it enlivened him more than sleep did.

"Thank you sir."

He smiled at the florist, showing a perfect set of pearly whites. "No ma'am. Thank YOU." he started to walk towards the opposite direction of the flower stall and into his car. He opened his convertible and carefully set the flowers in the passenger seat before climbing in.

He was about to start the engine when his cell phone rang. Sighing, he grabbed the ringing phone on the dashboard.

"Yep?"

_"Keep an eye on her, please."_

He recognized the voice on the other line. Mikhail's polite, as always.

"You don't trust him?" he asked and locked the door of his Beemer.

_"What do you think? Please tell her I'll have eyes around, in case something goes wrong."_

He started the engine. "Hmm… but why allow her to meet with him?"

There was a scoff on the other line.

_"Last job for both of us."_

He sighed. "Fine. I'm on my way to their apartment."

The moment he said that, he heard an amused chuckle from his friend.

_"She doesn't like you right now, Gav. Get over your silly crush and concentrate on your studies. Pursue her after you graduate from college."_

"You know—" he was cut off when the line went dead. He sighed again and threw his phone at the backseat. 

Mikhail Premenov can sometimes be a prick in the ass.

-x-x-x-

The moon is out but the stars are not. It gave the sky such a sad demeanor.

A girl of about eighteen is biking her way inside the pier. She's grateful for the cover the moon is giving her since it will enable her to both see where she's going and hide from the guards monitoring the area.

She looked for warehouse forty-seven. She wonders why Sark chose the warehouse with that number. She didn't see him as a Rambaldi groupie.

The gravel rolled under the bicycle tires, creating an unstable ground. The moon illuminated the number of the warehouses. At the far end of the pier, the numbers four and seven glimmered in the moonlight.

She pedaled faster and reached it after a few seconds. She hopped off the bike and looked about. Nobody is around, but the door is slightly ajar. Cautiously, she walked towards it, alert for anything.

Sark saw her enter. Her hair is up in a ponytail and she's wearing dark jeans, a green top, sneakers and a light, blue jacket. She's alone.

They are ready to detain her. The moment she finished retrieving the information in the Shining Sword's server, the CIA agents will appear and get her.

But he has a plan. He will not let her be caught.

It's all so simple. Though, he's bugged, all he has to do is find a way to make her escape. If he fails and he gets caught, it's Camp Harris again for him. How hard can that be?

"How did you get here?" he asked and motioned her to sit down. The cross shaped scar in her right cheek is so obvious under the glare of the fluorescent light.

"I biked." She pushed the errant strand of hair away from her face. "Where's your equipment?"

Sark slid it on the desk. He slipped a note inside.

She opened it and a piece of paper fell on her lap. She caught it and took a look.

YOU ARE COMPROMISED. DON'T DO ANYTHING RASH. THE PLACE IS BUGGED.

-x-x-x-

Jack watched in the monitors as Athena started to work her magic.

Their Athena seemed to be the least likely suspect since she never went near computers, but Alexia Vadison indeed proved that silent waters run deep. She hid the cyber terrorist in an apathetic, lazy, foul-mouthed façade which caused Jack to assume that it is some form of rebellion against her mother.

"Weiss, did she contact anyone in the last three hours?" he asked, calling across the room to his fellow agent, both hidden in warehouse forty-six.

Meanwhile Vaughn and Sydney were leading a tactical team comprising three other agents, their current task to roam around the warehouse, performing constant surveillance.

"No, she didn't." He replied, looking away from his screen to face Jack.

Jack looked at his watch. "Is everybody in place?"

Weiss looked at the surveillance. "Affirmative."

"Good. Wait for the signal to go."

-x-x-x-

(A couple of hours later…)

Sark could feel his heart beating against his ribcage. He saw the angry expression that overcame her face when she read the note, but when she looked at him again, he saw nothing. She was acting as if nothing had happened. It was as if everything was going the way she had planned.

"You've been sitting there for almost two hours, aren't you hungry? Thirsty?"

"Shush."

He kept quiet. And he didn't move from his chair. He doesn't want to test her, especially when he knows that she has a volatile temper. For all he knew, she was plotting revenge.

The minutes ticked by. He's starting to get really bored.

"Julian, what would you do if Mikhail hunts you down for what you've done?"

He looked at her. She knows the place is bugged. Is she insane?

"Pardon?" he managed to croak his reply in a civilized tone. She glared fiercely at him, but instead of attacking him like a wild animal, she pulled something out from her pocket and plugged it into the laptop.

She waited for a few minutes before she removed it from its socket and returned it to her pocket. "I said I was done."

Sark stood up as she did.

"Don't bother, Julian." She turned around and started to leave. "You can't do anything."

"You won't get beyond that door."

She turned her head and raised a brow. "Why? Because there are people listening and watching us and they will know I'm finished?" she gave a mirthless scoff. "Julian, don't you think it's a bit suspicious that it took me two goddamn hours to retrieve the information?"

She continued walking towards the door. "You'll be seeing Mikhail in a few days. You've been warned."

He could only stare at her back. The threat was there.

Sark looked at the surveillance cameras. What were they going to do now?

-x-x-x-

Weiss looked at the screen. Alexia is still typing like a madwoman and Sark is still staring into space.

"It's taking too long." He remarked. "They're too quiet."

Weiss looked at Jack, who had a pensive look on his face.

"Weiss, zoom it on her."

The younger agent tried to execute the command, but the camera isn't budging. His eyes inspected the screen and found out that the time being recorded is looped.

"The video is looped."

-x-x-x-

She pedaled as fast as her legs and stamina could allow her. They might notice the change she had done in a few minutes, but she prays that they'd be too preoccupied to see that. It took her an hour and forty-five minutes to trace the signal of the bugs and to do something about the surveillance without being noticed by the system.

She was successful in looping the video since she got out of the pier without being manhandled, but she only has a few minutes for escaping.

She needs to go home. She needs to pass the Intel to Mikhail as soon as possible. The Intel Sark has in his hands will self-destruct after an hour. She also destroyed the Shining Sword's server. She has the only copy of the data.

The cars zoomed past her. Blood started to pound in her head.

'Calm down. You ditched your jacket at the pier. You still have time.'

-x-x-x-

"They spotted her in their apartment." Sydney reported. "Nadia's in the vicinity."

Jack took his cell phone and called Nadia.

"Wait for her to come outside."

He knows that Alexia Vadison will not stay in one place. He also knows that she will not implicate her friends.

Jack looked at the agents. "Vaughn, leave now and assist Nadia. Sydney, go to the airport. Weiss, go with the air patrol. Make sure she doesn't leave San Francisco."

He's pretty sure the girl's mode of transportation will be on a bicycle.

-x-x-x-

The window is wide open and the sounds on the streets infiltrated the room. She didn't mind it and started to open the drawers of her table, looking for an envelope. Nobody saw her come in since she entered through the fire escape, and she intends to leave the same way.

She finally found the size of the envelope she needs. She then took her PDA, the thumb drive she used for the transference of the Intel, the SIM card of her cell phone and placed it inside the envelope. A key was grabbed from the table and was shoved in her pants pocket.

She then tore off a piece of paper from her notepad and hastily scribbled a note. She slipped it inside and sealed it with adhesive tape. The name of the receiver was hastily scribbled next.

She ran out of her room and into the kitchen. Eoclin is the only one who can help her.

"Eoclin." She said, a bit breathlessly. Her friend looked at her.

"Lex?" Her tone was filled with confusion. "What are you doing here?"

She pulled Eoclin into a blank spot in the kitchen and shoved the envelope on her chest. "Give this to Cedric. Make sure you deliver it to him personally."

"You do know—"

"Just give it to him, please? My life depends on it. Please."

Eoclin heard the pleading tone in Alexia's voice. They rarely hear it from her and when they do, it's always concerning life or death.

Her fingers gripped the envelope. "Okay, I'll give it to him tomorrow."

"Thank you." Alexia said in relief. "Don't let anyone get hold of it." She looked at Eoclin, staring directly in her silver eyes. "And please, give that bloke a chance. He's a nice person."

Alexia then ran out of the room, knowing that this might be the last time they will see each other again.

-x-x-x-

"We're following her. She's taking the service roads." Nadia reported to Jack. The roads are empty, save for a few cars in front of the bicycle. They are also going in a slow pace.

_"Where?"_

"I think she's going to the airport."

_"Don't let her get there."_

Nadia ended the call. She then motioned to the agent driving the car to step on the gas.

-x-x-x-

She heard the roar of the engine getting louder and nearer. Bile rose up to her throat. She tried to pedal faster, but she knows it's no use. It's quite dark and she can't outrun cars.

'But then again, there's no harm in trying.'

The wind whipped her face. She was so focused on pedaling harder that she didn't notice the car overtaking her and then blocking her way.

And when she did, it was too late.

The bike slammed on the side of the car and she flew forward. After a few seconds on air, she landed hard on the ground, the right side of her body receiving the full force of the impact.

She rolled a few feet away from where she landed. Pain exploded on almost every part of her body, especially the bruises she had acquired before.

Her eyeglasses are broken and her right cheek is burning. Tears streamed out of her eyes as she tried to breathe.

Running was not an option anymore. She could barely move.

She could feel people starting to gather around her. She tried moving her body, but found that her body is paralyzed in shock.

Light was shone in her face. It blinded her, but she couldn't complain to them.

A woman knelt beside her and started to poke her ribs. She groaned in agony.

"Stop it." She managed to croak out.

"Are you okay?"

The light is now tolerable, though the tears slightly blurred her vision. But she could see the concerned face hovering above her.

"Mommy?"

And then, the darkness claimed her.


	21. twenty

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of the characters except for the original ones, so please don't sue. Don't copy either. Thank you and have a nice day.

A/N- Thank you to **Agent Flamingo** for beta-reading :D I hope you enjoy (I hope you enjoy it enough to leave a review…hehe) Thanks!

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S MISSING!"

Mikhail Premenov paced around the room, struggling to digest what he had just heard from the trembling man standing in front of him—the man that he assigned to protect Alexia Vadison.

"Sir, she was hit by a car—"

"She was what!" Mikhail roared, fear stabbing into his employees' hearts. "I told you to watch over her and protect her and what did you do? You let her get caught. Do you want to die?"

The employee stared fearfully at him, unable to move. He had never seen him like this. Mikhail Premenov was usually a good-natured, easy going, responsible man. But on the rare occasion that he snaps, everyone knows to get well out of his way.

"Find her. And if you fail to do so, be prepared to lose your job." _'And your head'_, he mentally added. "Do you understand?"

The disgraced employee bobbed his head apprehensively. "Yes sir."

Mikhail stared at him.

"Then what are you standing there waiting for?"

His employee left hurriedly whilst Mikhail sighed and rubbed his face in frustration.

'I should have listened to her. We should have stopped the minute we found mama.'

-x-x-x-

Somewhere in San Francisco

_"Breathing's fine. Vitals are stable."_

"She's got minor abrasions and bruising on her right arm, right leg and right cheek."

"No evidence of broken bones or concussion."

Nadia is sitting on a small plastic chair, watching, as in the distance emergency doctors and nurses completed examining their patient. The result of an event that was partially her fault, she knew.

Their stakeout mission was finally over.

She stared at the walls, idly wondering why the girl called out to her mother when they (Alexia and her mother that is) apparently disliked each other.

But after hearing Alexia calling out for her mother, Nadia felt really sorry for her. What is going to happen to her now?

Somebody sat down on the chair beside her. She didn't have to turn around to see who it was. Sydney always managed to make the worst things better.

"How is she?" Sydney asked quietly.

"She's fine," she answered in an equally quiet tone.

Sydney looked at her sister. "Are you okay?" she asked upon hearing Nadia's guilty tone. Instinctively knowing that she was blaming herself for what happened.

"Um, yeah I'm fine." Nadia looked at Sydney confused. "She called out for her mom before the tranquilizer took effect, but doesn't she have issues with her mother?"

Sydney's eyebrows knotted in confusion. "Uh, yes, she does. What did she call you?"

"She called me mommy. It was a bit surreal since she said it once she saw me." The expression on her sister's face became one of distraction. "Are you okay?"

Sydney nodded her head. "Uh, excuse me for a while, will you?" she stood up and searched the room for her father.

She found him talking to one of the doctors. Sydney hurried towards him and waited for his conversation with the doctor to end.

"Dad."

Jack looked at her. "They're sedating the girl for transport."

Sydney looked at the doctor, as if asking him to leave before turning again to Jack. "She called Nadia 'mommy'." She said after the doctor was out of earshot. When her father only raised a brow, she continued. "Nadia looks like mom."

Jack started to walk away from her, "What is its relevance?" he asked when Sydney fell into step beside him.

"Because if mom was really alive all this time, then why not the twins?" she asked in a low tone. "I mean, Alexia Vadison's the same age as them."

"Almost the same age, Sydney." Jack corrected. "Vadison is turning nineteen."

"What's going to stop them from adding one year to their age?" Sydney answered. "I know how much you want dead loved ones to stop coming back to life, but please take a look at our family's track record in this kind of activity."

Jack stopped walking and faced her. "They're dead. They died in that explosion fourteen years ago."

Sydney could see that her father wanted this discussion to stop. His face was serious and his jaw was set on a stubborn line, but she could see the emotion brewing behind his eyes.

"Fine." she gritted her teeth.

Jack waited for a few minutes before saying, "We leave in fifteen minutes." he turned his back from her and started to walk away.

Sydney went the opposite direction. The voices of the nurses drifted to her ears. They were on their way out of the area where Alexia once lay.

She looked around and after confirming she was alone, she decidedly walked towards the room. She searched for the garbage can and found several bloody pieces of gauze that had been used to irrigate their prisoner's wound.

Sydney took one out and looked for a small plastic to bag to put it in, eventually locating one by the sink.

If she couldn't convince her father, maybe a little DNA testing would.

-x-x-x-

The airport was bustling with people, a normal occurrence in this kind of place. Agents Ratzi, Tanner and Weiss easily blended in with the crowd as they walked towards the lounge for the airport's frequent flyers. The key that was found in Alexia Vadison's pockets led them here, and they were tasked to examine the contents of locker number seventeen.

They strolled into the lounge and headed straight towards the lockers. The shiny metal doors winked at them as they searched for number seventeen. There were a couple of people inside, but they didn't take notice of the three men in black suits.

When they found it, Agent Tanner immediately checked it for booby traps. After a few seconds, he found none and motioned to Weiss that it was safe.

The metal door was cool to touch. Weiss immediately placed the key into the hole and opened it. Several clothes are hanging on the rack and two medium sized backpacks were at the bottom. Weiss moved out of the way so that Ratzi could check the inside of the locker fully.

Ratzi quickly went to his knees to check for false bottoms. A few minutes later, he pried open the right side. Money fell out of it.

He stood up and showed Weiss the catch. "I've got Euros, Dollars and Pounds."

"Sort it, count it and bag it." Weiss answered and inspected the clothes. Ratzi went to one corner while Tanner began to move around, scaring the nosey people away.

When he found nothing suspicious on the clothes, Weiss took one of the bags and opened it. His eyes widened when he saw what was inside.

A silencer measuring in at nine millimeters, a knife enclosed by its sheath and passports were all present. Weiss set down the bag and took the passports out.

He opened it and found Alexia Vadison's smiling face, an indication that she was the owner. But when he looked at the name, he decided that it may not be the case.

Sonya Pavlova has the same face as Alexia Vadison?

-x-x-x-  
LA California, the following day

She's soaring in the sky, feeling absolutely free and light.

_This is a wonderful dream._

And then, the pain interfered.

_"Lecheng Puta"_ she muttered as her eyes fluttered open. The Spanish/Filipino curse word echoed around her. She was reclined on a cold, hard slab of metal and her back was hurting.

Her vision was slightly blurry and blinking didn't make it any clearer. But the sight before her (she's sure of it…) is white.

'Where am I?'

Quickly, she pulled herself up to sitting position. Her muscles screamed in agony almost immediately.

"Oh, damn." She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. Tears streamed down her cheeks as the pain barraged her. It took a few minutes before it subsided.

It gave her a chance to look around. She's inside a white room—the walls, the floor, the security cameras and the ceiling are all colored white, but her cell, which occupies the middle of the room, is made entirely out of glass. When she looked at her reflection in the glass, she found out that she's wearing an oversized navy blue shirt and a pair of equally oversized navy blue pants. Her right cheek is covered in bandages.

She sighed and looked down. Here she's sitting on a thin mattress, but when she woke up, it felt more like it was part of the metal bed.

"Damn it." She muttered again. She tried to lift up her right arm. A string of curses followed the action. Her arm feels like there are thousands of pins embedded in it.

She clenched her jaw and tried to think of other things. She was not going to let the pain take control of her. She was caught and she was in pain, but she will not fold to them come interrogation time. She will not give them that satisfaction.

Suddenly, the door opened. She turned towards the sound and found two figures walking towards her, a male and a female.

They stopped a few centimeters away from her cell. She could see them, though not as clearly as she would have wanted. The female is a striking African-American, with an air of importance around her and a serious expression on her face. Her companion is a distinguished, middle-aged man with silver hair who has the same look on his face.

She wonders if somebody died. They both look so somber.

"Ms. Vadison? Or do you prefer Ms. Pavlova?" the woman asked.

She pursed her lips, as if amused. "I prefer the former." Her voice is strong and clear. "Now, how did you get hold of that other name?"

Though she's sitting stiffly on her bed and her right cheek is swathed in bandages, the girl exudes calmness that seems out of place due to the gravity of her situation.

'She should be afraid. Unless she's much smarter than we thought.' Chase observed. She's quite surprised with the girl's reaction.

Chase glanced at Sloane.

"Terrorism is a subject the CIA doesn't take lightly, Ms. Vadison." Sloane stated, scrutinizing Alexia Vadison's face.

A child stared back at them.

"What makes you think I'm a terrorist?" the girl asked, her British accent bouncing off the walls. The undercurrents of her tone speak of challenge and disdain.

"Hacking is not exactly within the law, isn't it?" Chase answered.

"But so is kidnapping." Alexia retorted. "Do you have any proof of this… unlawful act?"

Sloane chuckled. "If we didn't have anything, Ms. Vadison, do you think you'd be sitting inside this Plexiglas cell?"

"Plexiglas?" Her eyes widened. Sloane doesn't know whether it's because of shock or glee.

"Why, Ms. Vadison? Was that not part of your plan?" Chase goaded. "Give us what we want and we might consider lightening your punishment."

A mocking smile blossomed on the girl's face. Slowly, she climbed out of the bed, with a silent prayer that her knees will not buckle. She then sauntered towards her two visitors positions.

"And what do you want?"

Sloane could see her face clearly. She had hazel (but quite unfocused) eyes, a straight nose, sharp cheekbones, medium sized ears, a full mouth and black hair. Her features are a mixture of her mother and father's although he's sure that she doesn't know that. The mixture is so subtle though, that it wouldn't be noticed at first glance.

"Mikhail Premenov and Irina Derevko's location, plus the Intel you've acquired from the Shining Sword's server." Chase answered, looking at Sloane and then back to their prisoner.

"And what will happen if I refuse to cooperate?"

Sloane chimed in, "You'll be staying here until they are caught. And during your whole stay, you'll be subjected to interrogations that we believe will make you turn on them eventually."

Alexia stared at him and raised a brow, "You know... I don't like the way you're looking at me." Turning to Chase, "I'm not going down without a fight, so bring in you best if you want your answers fast."

She turned away from them and slowly walked back to her bed. She licked her dry lips and looked at them once again. "It's nice to meet my captors. Have a nice day." A mocking smile was flashed before her face turned serious again.

Chase and Sloane didn't have any choice but to leave. They would not be able to get answers from her this way and they couldn't torture her since she could be useful in the Agency's affairs. But, they were not about to let the information she had, stay in her head.

"Sark is to meet Premenov in San Francisco in a few hours time." Sloane said after they stepped out of the "white" room. "We are going to apprehend him as soon as we have contact."

Chase nodded her head. "Good. As soon as we have him, we can go after Olivia Reed and her cohorts." She looked at her watch. "I have to leave for Langley. Good luck."

-x-x-x-

Pacing around the empty room didn't do anything to contain his anger. He had to keep his hands in his pocket to keep them from destroying things.

He is in an old, vacated building in the middle of San Francisco. A helicopter is upstairs, waiting for the meeting to finish. He knows that Sark will be entrapping him, the same way he entrapped his sister, but he will not let him succeed. Sofya was quite careless, he is not.

A small wooden table sat in the middle of the room, with a silenced nine millimeter handgun on top of it. It is their gun preference since it's small and compact. And he wants to take it and empty the bullets on the wall.

_'Focus. You won't find her that way.'_ He thought, although if the situation was reversed, he's pretty sure the entire city of San Francisco would have been bombed to find him.

The door creaked open. He turned around, his hand on the knife hidden in his jacket, alert for any danger.

He found his friend walking towards him.

"Eoclin gave this to me a few hours ago." His friend said and handed him a brown envelope. "Lex instructed that I give it to you as soon as possible."

He took the envelope from Cedric's outstretched hands and opened it. Inside is his sister's PDA, her SIM card and a thumb drive. He looked at Cedric again before putting the envelope on the table.

"So, what are you going to do?" Cedric asked, as he sat on one of the crates. He watched as Mikhail pace around like a trapped lion.

He saw Mikhail's cheek twitching a bit. His friend's face was stoic—he couldn't see any emotions at all.

"I'm going to find a way to get to her before the thirty-first of May while at the same time keep her disappearance from my mother."

Cedric gaped at him in disbelief. "Keep it from your mother? Are you insane?"

Mikhail gave him a sharp glance. Cedric decided to change the subject.

"How is your mother, anyway?" he was with them when she was rescued. He saw Irina's pale and almost lifeless body being carried by her son. There were cuts and bruises on her wrists made by the chains and she looked like she had really suffered a lot in the cell. He thought that Mikhail and his sister would kill everyone that wasn't on their team. Even their uncle thought they would go into a murderous rampage. But they didn't.

Mikhail thought for a while.

"I don't know how she is. Physically, she's doing superbly. But other than that…" he trailed off.

Almost each night on her fist week in Italy, her screams woke them up in the middle of the night. Currently, Martin has reported that she has found a way to cope up with that by going down the kitchen every midnight.

"Who are we waiting for here, Mik?"

Just as Cedric said those words, the door opened. In came Mikhail's two bodyguards with Julian Sark and his bodyguards.

"Julian, we meet again."

His tone is so emotionless. It matches the expression on his face and both Sark and Cedric hadn't heard him speak like that before.

"Unfinished business."

Mikhail stared at him. He then walked his way to the table in the middle of the room. Suddenly, two popping sounds echoed.

Sark's bodyguards fell down the floor.

The nine millimeter was in Mikhail's hands and was now leveled at Sark's head. His ruthless glare brought shivers of fear to everyone still standing.

He walked towards Sark, who was rooted in his place. Mikhail placed the nozzle of the silenced weapon a few inches from Sark's heart. "There is no use in asking for help, Julian. I have rigged the place with scramblers."

Mikhail squeezed the trigger. Sark stumbled backwards.

He tried to conquer the pain. He is still alive, thanks to the bulletproof vest he is wearing, but the pain was still unbearable.

"Do you know how much I wanted that bullet to enter between your eyes, pass through your underused brain and exit through the back of your head?" Mikhail leveled the gun towards Sark's position and fired again.

"Tie those two CIA agents and throw them out the building. Hogtie and gag this traitor." He pulled out a metal bracelet from his pocket. "Put this on his wrist and put him in a crate. I'll be bringing him with me."

Mikhail returned the safety latch of his gun and placed it inside his pocket. He walked towards the table and took the envelope.

"Let's go, Cedric." He said and walked towards the other door. Sark was going to die in his hands if he would not tell him where Sofya is.


	22. twenty one

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

Bleak, white walls surrounded her and seemed to be closing in every second. The silence was deafening and the three-day isolation was getting on her nerves.

The corner of her glass cell had given her little solace, but that didn't stop her from sitting there and staring into space.

'I feel like I'm in a mental institution.' She thought as she massaged her right arm. The burst of pain, as sadistic as it sounds, bring her some sort of peace of mind.

'Momentum is the absence of air resistance or other external force.' she mentally recited. Momentum was one of the topics she understood in Physics class. And now, she can fully understand it due to the bike-flying experience.

'Moral of the story: don't use a bike when you can use a car.' She shifted her position slightly. She stifled a wince when she felt the right part of her body complain.

She closed her eyes and sighed. How long will it take before she rots here?

The door opened. She opened her eyes slightly and glanced towards the entrance. A tall man in a suit was walking towards her cell. She lowered her eyelids and ignored him. The agents who bring in her meals neither looked at her nor uttered a single word.

"Ms. Vadison."

The low timbered voice resonated in the room. Alexia looked up and saw a forty-ish African-American standing in front of her.

She remembers him. Sark introduced him as Samuel Preston.

'So he's CIA.' Then it struck her. He and Sark were sitting on the same table as Mr. and Mrs. Patterson and Mr. Brennen.

"Yes?" she asked, not budging from her spot. The probability of her neighbors and her Physics teacher being CIA agents were great. The enemies had been right under her nose.

"We need to ask you a few questions."

Dixon stared at the girl. She was a little bit older than Robin and Steven—she's still a child. She was supposed to be in school, hanging out with her friends, getting interested in boys (or girls, if that was her preference). But no, she's sitting inside this cell, being charged with terrorism by the United States government.

"We? Where are the rest of you?" She asked of him.

Dixon clasped his hands together and maintained his stiff posture. "You will not be questioned here, Ms. Vadison. Please stand up so that we can go to the interrogation room."

"What, no US Marshals with you?" she remarked, a bit acerbically though she was admiring how polite the agent was.

He just looked at her, waiting.

Alexia sighed and raised her left arm. "Could you pull me up, please?" She saw him raise a brow. He was suspicious. "Do you really think I'll do something stupid? I can't even raise my right hand."

Dixon pulled her up gently. He felt her grip tighten in his hand when she stood on her feet. As soon as she let go of his hand, her wrists were immediately shackled.

He then motioned her to move forward. "The interrogation room is just a short walk from this room."

-x-x-x-

Jack entered Marshall's office and found their tech standing in front of the television playing a video game on mute. There were lots of explosions and flying cars and it seemed Marshall was enjoying it immensely.

"Marshall."

Their tech jolted and almost threw away the controller. "Mr. Bristow." He said as he paused the game and turned off the TV. He smiled at Jack, but it looked more like he was constipated than really smiling. He didn't want to be reprimanded by Jack because he was playing in the office.

"Do you have the results of the lie detector tests performed yesterday?"

Marshall scrambled towards the desk and unearthed a folder from a pile of gadgets. "Uh, here it is. She passed half of the questions that were asked of her, but she totally flunked the voice stress analysis. Although I must say, most lie detector tests are not really proven to be accurate, but then…" he trailed off when Jack stared at him.

Jack opened the folder and read its contents. Marshall, on the other hand, went to his desk and took a big, glass jar of colorful jellybeans from the drawer.

"Uh, jellybeans, Mr. Bristow?" he asked after a few minutes. Jack looked up from what he was reading and looked at the jar in the Marshall's hands.

"No, thank you."

He turned around and left the room.

-x-x-x-

_"So, what do you think of the plan?"_

Irina was sitting on the sofa, her legs stretched out in front of her resting on top of Jack's lap. He was gently massaging her feet. He knew she had had a very long, tiring day. A longer, and much more tiring day than he had experienced.

"That depends." She answered and looked at him. "Will you stick to your well-planned strategy?"

He grinned at her. "I don't know." Irina smoothed the papers and gave it back to him.

"What do you mean, 'I don't know'?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Well, if something bad happens, and we can't use any of the emergency plans we've concocted, then we won't be able to stick to it, right?" he answered, "But then, you know the ins and outs of the building, the possible tactics your former superiors might use—if anything goes wrong, you can always come and save us."

She frowned at him. "Jack—"

He shifted his position and leaned forward before giving her a light kiss on the lips.

"I was just kidding."

The clock by the kitchen counter blinked at her. Its one fifteen AM and she's staring at the glass of warm milk on the table. She's in the kitchen, overlooking the garden and the darkness is her only company.

She had woken up again after three hours of slumber. This was the second time that night, and would not be the last. Horrible dreams plague her sleep, the memories of her six-month imprisonment being vividly replayed in her subconscious over and over again.

It was an ordeal she couldn't talk about to anyone who would not be able to understand. No one could help her.

Irina brought the glass to her lips and sipped the milk. She looked by her feet and sighed. Sofya's puppy was curled up by her feet, sound asleep. She could only wish for that kind of deep slumber.

Suddenly, a tall figure emerged from the shadows of the garden. He was stealthy, Irina didn't even realize he was there until he appeared by the French doors.

The figure punched in the security code and quietly went in. He closed the doors swiftly and began to move noiselessly around the kitchen.

"Do you know what time it is, Nathan?"

Irina's voice rang loud and clear and made the figure stop dead in his tracks.

"I don't think I approve of you coming home late."

"You're awake." He stated, ignoring her first two comments.

Irina leaned back on her chair. "Where have you been?" she asked. She might be the weakest person in the house at this moment, but she was still the mother of the child in front of her.

"Our flight was delayed." He was obviously lying.

"Turn on the lights please." Nathan couldn't lie to her when he's looking her in the eye. He knows he'll get caught telling a lie if he does that.

He let out a defeated sigh as he flicked on the switch.

The fluorescent lights flickered slightly before fully illuminating the kitchen. Nathan clenched his jaw before turning around to face his mother.

"What happened? Why is there blood on your clothes?" she asked and stood up quickly to approach him. Her tone speaks of alarm and concern.

"Its nothing, I'm fine."

Irina inspected his face, looking for any sign of wounds or scratches. "And what about the person whose blood is on your sweater?"

Nathan looked directly into his mother's eyes.

"I pity him."

She felt chills run down her spine. She couldn't believe the cold-bloodedness of his tone. Was this really her son?

"What did you do?" She saw anger flash in his eyes. It wasn't directed at her, but to him. And yet, he said nothing.

"What did you do?" she repeated, her irritation flaming each word.

"I beat some sense into Julian Sark's head." Nathan tried to contain the anger but he couldn't help but spill it out with his words. He is also feeling afraid of the woman in front of him. He doesn't know what she would do if she finds out what had happened.

"And what did Sark do to you?"

He licked his lips which has suddenly turned dry and cleared his throat. He couldn't lie to his mother, but certainly couldn't tell her the truth.

"I can't—"

"I asked you a question, Nathan Mikhail." She snapped. "You better damn answer me."

"He helped the CIA in catching Iya."

Irina's eyes sharpened. Did she hear right? "Sit down, Nathan." She knows her children's capabilities, both hidden and innate. She just didn't realize how capable they are of doing the things she's done.

She sat across her son.

"Tell me. Everything."

And he did. He told it in a clear and calm voice. He told her everything from the start, how they tried to find her, how they funded their search and rescue, how they created cyber terrorists Angel and Athena for that purpose, how they created the persona Mikhail Premenov and how they found her location. He also relayed to her how Sark and the CIA played in this situation.

"Uh, Uncle Benjamin, Aunt Elena and the cousins are on their way to Cardiff."

Irina massaged her temple which is besieged with worry and fury. Her youngest daughter may be in the hands of Jack and Sydney. Sofya will not reveal her true identity to protect her, herself and her brother, but Jack will be relentless in getting the information Sofya has.

"Who's picking them up?"

"Danilov flew them."

Irina felt relieved for her sister. Her nephew, Elena's eldest child, was six years older than Sydney. He could be depended on for these kinds of things, although he was enjoying a private and "legal" lifestyle.

"Do you have any plan to get back your sister?" she asked, mildly sarcastic. Do you have any plan that will not expose your identity to your father?

Nathan nodded his head.

"Mama, I promise you. When I show my face to you again, I'll have Iya with me."

Irina looked at him and raised a brow. "Go to sleep, Nathan." She stood up, took the glass of milk and went out of the kitchen.

Nathan, on the other hand, sighed and leaned back on the chair. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists.

He had just disappointed his mother.

-x-x-x-  
(A few days later)

Sydney walked towards Vaughn's desk. She'd finished interrogating Alexia Vadison for the day.

"Hey." She greeted and sat at the edge of his table.

Vaughn looked up and saw her smiling face. He smiled back.

"Hey." He set down the pen and leaned back on the chair. "So, how did it go?" he asked, referring to the interrogation.

Sydney's facial expression turned that of slight uneasiness. "Vaughn, do I have two big front teeth?"

Vaughn raised a brow. "Uh, no. why?" her face was very serious and his answer seemed to bother her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm sure."

She crossed her arms in front of her. "Chase ordered us not to give our names right?"

Vaughn finally understood what's bothering Sydney. "She gave you a nickname, didn't she?"

Sydney made a face. "Agent Overbite. She said my two front teeth are like Bugs Bunny's."

The corners of Vaughn's mouth twitched. "Well, it's not that bad. You could have been named after a cartoon character or something." He said, referring to her nickname to Dixon, Martian Manhunter.

"You've questioned her already, haven't you?" Sydney asked. "What's your nickname?"

Vaughn shrugged and kept quiet. Sydney gently kicked his table.

"Come on, Vaughn."

"Agent Forehead Wrinkles."

Sydney gaped at him before starting to laugh. Vaughn just nodded. "Yeah, I know. You got off easy."

She smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let it get you." She then looked around. "Where's dad?"

"In Sloane's office."

In Sloane's office

"Chase wants results." Sloane said and clasped his hands together. "And she wants the results now."

"The girl is important to Premenov." Jack stated. He is sitting in front of Sloane, and he'd been sitting in front of him for almost an hour. "Premenov has the intel, not her."

Sloane nodded his head, "But she can re-create the Shining Sword's servers for us." He took the glass of water and took a sip as he studied Jack's face. He is thinking of a strategy.

"We can't use truth serum?" Jack asked.

The telephone rang. Sloane looked at his watch before pressing the speakers.

"Yes?"

_"Arvin Sloane, I presume?"_

Sloane glanced at Jack when the voice reverberated in the room. He recognizes it.

"Mr. Premenov. What a pleasure."

_"Don't bother tracing the call, Mr. Sloane. It won't get you anywhere."_

Sloane sighed. "What do you want?"

_"What do you think?"_

The sarcastic tone resounded in their ears together with the British accent that came with it.

"We want Mr. Sark, Irina Derevko and the intel for Alexia Vadison."

A derisive laugh came from the other line.

_"Mr. Sark and the intel for Ms. Vadison."_

Sloane looked at Jack, who shook his head.

"Mr. Sark, Ms. Derevko and the intel for Alexia Vadison." Sloane repeated.

_"Aren't you getting tired of Derevko's in your custody, Mr. Sloane? Katya Derevko was a gift to you from me, Angel and Athena." _A pause followed.

_"Mr. Sark and the intel in exchange for my friend. If you cannot accept my terms, expect Mr. Sark to visit you from his grave and the intel on human cloning and DNA mutation in the hands of your worst enemy. Goodbye."_

The line went dead. Chase will not like this new development. Sloane called the personnel involved in tracing all calls coming in and out of the office.

"Did you get that?"

"No sir. The clearest point we had, was in the middle of the Caspian Sea."

He sighed and set down the phone in the cradle. He glanced at Jack, who now had a contemplative look on his face.

"He was willing to give us Sark and the intel but not Irina Derevko." Jack remarked. "Why not exploit on that? She must be pretty significant in his organization."

Sloane opened the drawer in his desk and tossed it in front of Jack. "I might know why." He said dryly and waited for him to read the contents of the folder.

Jack opened it and found colored photographs of Sark's meeting with Mikhail Premenov. He could only stare at the pictures. It was like looking into a magical mirror created for old men like him in which he could see his lost youth.

Or maybe it was like looking at a catalogue designed for possible jobs of his future clones. In this case, a catalogue for jobs in the terrorist world.

"Sydney asked Marshall to compare your DNA to our prisoner's DNA. Of course she didn't tell that to Marshall, but still…" Sloane trailed off when Jack's stare hardened.

"They're alive, Jack. Alexia Vadison and Mikhail Premenov are your children."


	23. twenty two

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

_"Sydney asked Marshall to compare your DNA to our prisoner's DNA. Of course she didn't tell that to Marshall, but still…" Sloane trailed off when Jack's stare hardened._

"They're alive, Jack. Alexia Vadison and Mikhail Premenov are your children."

Jack gave him a steely glare. "I highly suggest not jumping to conclusions." He said stoically, his voice and face not betraying the emotions that's brewing inside him. "The DNA results aren't in yet and all you've got of Mikhail Premenov are photographs."

_'Look at those ears, Jack'_ Sloane thought. He couldn't believe the power of denial the man in front of him possessed. "That's your face. Sydney and the rest of the agents may not see the resemblance, but I can."

Jack's face was unreadable. He simply couldn't gauge what Jonathan Donahue Bristow was thinking.

"My son and daughter would never do anything like this."

"They would if they were raised by Irina Derevko." Sloane countered. "Chase wants you to interrogate the girl starting tomorrow. But you don't have to do this."

"She's the only one who knows Irina's location."

Sloane looked him directly in the eye. "Are you sure that's what you really want? Especially with what happened with your second daughter?"

Jack stood up abruptly from his seat. "I'll be informing the people who prepare Alexia Vadison's meals to withhold food for a while. It might loosen her tongue."

He watched Jack leave the office. He admired the man's ability to keep his emotions in check, but something must be done when it borders into feeling nothing at all.

He picked up the telephone and dialed a direct number for Chase.

"Is it possible for Dr. Barnette to be transferred to this division?"

As he talked to the director, he scanned his table. He realized that Jack didn't return the folder full of Mikhail Premenov's pictures.

-x-x-x-

Sydney hurried towards her father's side after she saw him come out of Sloane's office.

"Dad?" she could sense he was upset, "What's wrong?"

Jack stopped walking and looked at her. The expression he was shooting her could be likened to the expression he had when she did something inappropriate when she was a child.

"Why did you ask Marshall to test my DNA against hers?" he asked in a low tone.

His anger didn't surface in his tone but it was very obvious in his body language.

Sydney couldn't help but feel angry at him, "You wouldn't believe me. I thought that a piece of paper would help." She answered sarcastically.

Her father started to walk away from her again. Sydney followed him.

"Dad, wait." She said with a hint of exasperation in her tone. She then realized that they were walking towards the "white" room. This time, she kept her mouth shut and followed him.

Jack pushed open the door of the security room leading to the cell, which is currently being manned by three agents.

"When is her next meal going to arrive?" he asked in a tone that made the three agents stand up straighter.

One of them looked at his watch, "Uh, in three hours, sir. For dinner."

"Withhold food for a while until she wants to talk. Until that happens, just give her water."

Sydney stared at him disbelievingly. The other agents were also looking at him with the same look on their faces.

"Uh, sir? When will we give it to her?"

Jack raised a brow. "You decide when to give it to her."

He left when no other question was raised. The moment Sydney stepped out to the hall, and the door closed behind her, she blocked Jack from once again walking away from her.

"You can't do that." She said, incredulous. Why is her father doing this?

"I was tasked to do this interrogation. I will do whatever is necessary to get what we need from her."

Sydney's lips curled downwards. "What if she's my sister? What will you do?" she asked. Jack didn't say anything and just stared at her.

"I will not stop you if you want to be nice to her, but she's the only one who knows where your mother is."

Sydney clenched her jaw and pressed her lips together. Jack knows that it's a way to show her disgust at him.

She stepped aside to let him pass. "She's her mother too, you know." She whispered grimly.

He shot a tentative glance at her before proceeding to walk away from her once again.

-x-x-x-  
(A couple of days later)

"Shut up, you self-righteous prig."

The only sign that he was taken aback with her statement was the brow he raised. The wolf they had captured was finally baring her fangs.

Jack started to pace in front of her glass cell. Their young ward, who had lost considerable weight in the past few days, was seated on the floor in lotus position. Her hazel eyes followed his every move around the room. He could tell she was angry—her face didn't show it, but her choice of words did.

"You don't know what you're talking about, so shut up."

Dumbo-fly-home was goading her about Irina Derevko. He told her that she was a dangerous criminal (she admitted that) a woman who manipulates people to get what she needs (but she and her brother did that too) and that she was only using her to get back her organization (impossible—they are now heading her organization)

"Oh, I do know what I'm talking about, Ms. Vadison."

She just shrugged. She knew the truth and she didn't have to believe the words the man in front of her was saying. "So you say." She answered sarcastically.

Her stomach grumbled. She hadn't eaten for the past three or four days.

"Why are you asking me about her, anyway? The other agents kept on asking about a certain Mikhail Premenov." She asked as she ignored her stomach.

_You won't be given any food if you don't give them what they want_. Her stomach said, grumbling about the lack digestible things inside the J-shaped organ.

"Mikhail Premenov is not my concern. Irina Derevko, however, is."

"Why?"

Jack stopped pacing around and faced her. The girl is still looking at him. Though half of her face is covered with bandages and her limp black hair, her gaze is unwavering. But he could see her biting her lower lip, something he noticed as a sign of apprehension.

"That's none of your business." Jack replied crisply. "Answer the question, you'll get food. Don't answer, you'll only get water."

She kept quiet. She had started to massage her bruised arm again.

Jack shrugged. "Suit yourself."

He turned his heel and left. The girl is stubborn. He hadn't seen such control over someone that young. Sydney might be an exception, but she had the Project: Christmas training in her past.

Jack looked at his watch. He was wasting time with the senseless question and answer sessions.

Truth serum is the next option for her.

-x-x-x-  
(That night)

"Wake up."

She groaned and tried to swat the hand away from her shoulder, "Go 'way." She mumbled, rolling away from him.

"Ow." She had bumped into something hard. She is actually lying on the floor, using the thin mattress as her blanket.

"Wake up."

Alexia opened her eyes and looked up. A US Marshal is staring at her.

She ignored the pain she's felt and sat up. Her mind is fully awake but her body isn't. "What is it?"

"Interrogation." One of them answered and held out his hand. "Stand up."

Alexia took his hand and was hoisted up. The moment she felt her feet on the floor, she placed her wrists in front of her and waited for them to be cuffed. She already knew the procedure.

She yawned as the US Marshals started to move. She shuffled her feet lazily and followed them as she thought of an escape for this new interrogation tactic the CIA was using on her.

They reached the interrogation room a few minutes later. When she entered the viewing room, she found it barely lit and only two men standing by the one-way mirror.

Agent Dumbo-fly-home and The Man with the Creepy stare.

"Get her inside and strap her." One of the men said. She surmised that it was Dumbo—the man with the creepy stare has a demeanor that she find strange. He seems to be very interested in her.

She was ushered in and was made to sit down on the chair. The US Marshal shackled her wrists and ankles before leaving the room.

Sloane looked at Jack, "Are you sure about this?"

"She's Mikhail Premenov's asset. Its best we squeeze out all the information we need." He said as he walked towards the door and opened it.

He stepped in and slowly walked towards the table. When he reached it, he opened the small metal briefcase and took out a syringe.

Jack showed it to her. "We gave you a chance to speak." He walked towards her—his footsteps echoed ominously around the room.

She could feel her pulse racing. The expression on his face is blank but she could see the ease in his actions. It's as if he had done this countless of times.

"Truth serum." He continued to speak. "It will make you answer every question I ask truthfully. Some people even reveal other things that make them very vulnerable to their interrogators."

"I know that." The sleepiness is gone from her voice and she is warily staring at the syringe. The needle is huge— just where will he stick that?

Jack pulled her chair backwards. The screech created by the metal and the floor burned their ears.

"Why this late?" she asked snootily, covering up the fear she is feeling. She already knows the answer. She is being held in a place which also serves as an office. Interrogation at this time of the night means that they don't want to be interrupted by the other people who work here.

Jack dabbed the cotton doused with alcohol in her arm before unceremoniously injecting her with the serum.

He tossed the syringe across the table as she shouted out in surprise.

"It will take effect in a few minutes." Jack said and walked towards the empty chair beside her. He sat on it and waited for the truth serum to take over Alexia Vadison's tongue.

The minutes ticked by. And then, she started to cry.

Jack looked at her. Her reaction is interesting. Are those tears of fear, of pain, or are they of just plain insanity?

"Don't look at me." She whimpered. "My body hurts so much. Don't you understand?"

Jack clasped his hands together. "Where is Irina Derevko?"

"In our summer home." She sniffled and looked at him. "I'll tell on you and she'll kick your sorry arse."

The comment made him smile a bit and he proceeded with his line of question. "And where is your summer home?"

"Its in T-" Jack sensed her hesitation, but there is nothing she could do about it. She is under the influence of the truth serum. She wouldn't be able to lie.

"She's in Turkey."

A small smile tugged Jack's lips as he looked at the mirror. They had a result with this method and they had it only in a few minutes.

He looked at Alexia again. Her tear streaked face is turned away from him.

"You won't get her." She said. She's starting to feel dizzy. "She'll know."

Alexia started to cry again. "She'll know and she'll get angry."

"Who'll get angry?"

"Mom." She sobbed as she shifted in her seat. The handcuffs clanged on the chair. "I want to go home."

"You will not be able to go home unless we have Mikhail Premenov." Jack said, not daring to ask who her mother was. He was sure that his children would never do something like this. He's sure of it.

"He's looking for me." Jack already knew that. Marshall had detected a surge of deflected data in one of the servers and they suspected it was Premenov.

Her tears continually fell. She has no control over her tear ducts or with the emotions that are swirling around her. "He'll find me and he'll leave all of you unscathed. Please don't force him to kill anyone."

Jack raised a brow. "You don't want him to kill anyone?"

She stared to tug her left wrist. "No. Mom doesn't want that. She'll ground us forever." Her vision started to spin. Her face started to look green.

"I think I'm going to be sick."

Suddenly, she lurched forward and vomited.

Jack stood up, a bit alarmed. She hasn't been anything for the past few days, what is she vomiting?

Sloane burst in the room, followed by two US Marshals. Jack could easily see the concern in his face.

She hurled again.

Sloane hurried towards the girl's side and checked on her. The he then motioned the US Marshals to unshackle her.

Alexia was shaking and crying at the same time. Her hands were gripping the chair.

"I want to go home." She whispered before drifting into the darkness.

A few hours later, she woke up in her cell, wearing a new set of clothes and smelling the aroma of food on the table in the corner.

She felt confused. She couldn't remember what happened during the interrogation.

She slipped off the bed and went towards the table. Her stomach was roaring for food—anything to eat, actually.

On the tray was a plate of sliced assorted fruits, chicken drumsticks, mashed potatoes and a glass of water. She took the spoon, which was plastic, and scooped a portion of the mashed potatoes.

Fragments of the interrogation the night before started to surface.

Her mother is safe. They won't be able to find her. Even under the influence of the truth serum, she had managed to tell them a wrong location. She told the CIA/Dumbo-fly-home that she is in Turkey and not in Tuscany.

Her forehead knotted in confusion.

'How did that happen?'


	24. twenty three

**CHAPTER TWENTY THREE**

"Hey."

Nadia looked up from her pile of paperwork and found Weiss grinning at her.

"Hey, yourself." She greeted back and smiled back at him. "What's up?"

"Do you want to go out for lunch?"

She looked at her watch, "Yes, but we'll have to be back before the meeting starts."

"There's a new place a few blocks from here." Weiss answered. "Don't worry, we wont be late."

Nadia smiled and stood up. "Sure." Weiss then offered her coat to her.

As they walked down the corridor, Weiss decided to open up the topic of her father. He had tried to investigate the matter, to placate Nadia, but his investigation was always blocked by the system. It seemed to him that someone with a higher position than him was trying to hide something.

He opened his mouth and then closed it again. No, not today, it wasn't right.

"Uh, I heard you viewed one of the girl's interrogations."

"Yes, father said that Jack's skills with riling prisoners are unmatched. I was curious."

They stepped in the elevator. As the doors closed, Weiss looked at Nadia.

"Have you met her? The girl, I mean."

Nadia shook her head. "No, why do you ask? Is it because of the nicknames?" she asked jokingly. She had heard of the monikers their young prisoner had given out to the agents like she was giving away candies for her birthday. The names were hilarious, but a little bit insulting at the same time.

"She calls you… 'Wallpaper', right?"

Weiss laughed, "I want something better but since I didn't ask any questions… do you know Jack's nickname?" he asked in a plotting tone.

She shook her head. "No one wants to tell."

He leaned towards her and whispered it in her ear.

"Its Dumbo-fly-home."

Nadia pressed her lips together as she looked at Weiss. She tried to keep herself from laughing, but giggles were streaming out of her lips.

They arrived at the door that led to the outside world. Weiss did the honors and opened it.

Standing in front of them is Jack.

His eyes sharpened when he saw them together, but he didn't say anything. Weiss and Nadia stepped out quietly as Jack went in.

"There's a meeting at one pm." Jack said gruffly as the doors closed.

After a few seconds, Nadia burst in laughter. "We were just talking about him."

Weiss grinned. "It's a good thing he didn't hear us."

They started to walk out, their laughter beginning to subside and the amused expressions on their faces became replaced by pensive ones.

"He hates her, doesn't he?"

Weiss raised a brow, "Who?"

"Jack. He hates my mother."

"Uh," Weiss started. "I don't really think he hates her, hates her. You know what I mean?" he asked. "What made you say that?"

Nadia sighed. "When I watched the interrogations, he…" she trailed off, not wanting to continue.

"What did he say?" He asked softly. Irina Derevko might have done a lot of unspeakable things, but he knows that the woman has the capability to love. He saw how she looks and talks about Sydney.

"I know he doesn't mean some of the things he said but there was conviction in his voice. Sydney's not going to say anything about it, but I know that she there is a part of her that feels almost the same way as her father does."

Weiss tried to think of something sensible to say, but decided that the issue of Irina Derevko is too heavy for him to handle. She was, after all, the reason behind the three-month stay in the hospital.

Nadia sighed once again. "I wish I could just meet her and see for myself." She then looked at him and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, its okay." Weiss answered, summoning a bright smile. "So, are you really hungry? I heard the food is great at this place."

-x-x-x-

Marshall walked around, trying to look for Sydney. In his hands is a folder that contains the result of the DNA test Sydney asked for.

His eyes scanned around the room and found her seated on her chair, typing something in the computer.

"Syd." He hurried towards her, "Oh, hey. I have your results." He said and handed her the folder.

Sydney smiled at him. "Thank you."

Marshall smiled back. "Oh, I made some notes just in case… you know… Uh, Director Chase wants me to sit in on the hypnotherapy session she wants the girl to undergo-"

"Wait, hypnotherapy session?" Sydney asked, interrupting Marshall's babbling.

"Uh, yeah."

Sydney was going to ask more questions when Dixon called her. The meeting was about to start.

She stood up and looked regretfully at the folder. She didn't have the chance to check its contents. She looked at Marshall and smiled.

"Thanks again."

"No prob. Have fun in the meeting."

-x-x-x-

Sloane looked at them, trying to find the right words for the operation he's going to assign the agents.

"Langley has approved the plan to apprehend Mikhail Premenov." He started, clasping his hands together. "As soon as Alexia Vadison is finished with the hypnotherapy session-"

"What plan to apprehend Mikhail Premenov?" Sydney asked, interrupting him.

"Jack suggested that we use our prisoner to entrap Premenov and we will use the compromised server to start this operation." Sloane answered. "The intel will tell them that the girl is to be transferred in Langley. She'll be transported in a bus, with two escort cars and will supposedly be sent to a private airstrip."

"Don't you think that this is a bit risky? We don't know the capabilities of Mikhail Premenov." Vaughn asked.

"No." Jack answered. "We have interrogated the girl. She admitted that Premenov will not kill anyone unless somebody gives him a reason."

He looked at them. Technically speaking, he will kill anyone, but considering that it is his colleague that he's going to rescue, he'd probably use tranquilizers.

'Like when they rescued Irina.'

They are still trying to look for the summer home's location in Turkey. They haven't reached anything conclusive yet.

Sloane stood up and started to pace around the room. He discreetly looked at Nadia before starting to talk again, "The routes the transport vehicle will take and the agents who will escort them will also be detailed in the fake intel."

He glanced at Jack before continuing, "I want Nadia and Vaughn to head the escorting vehicle. Weiss, you're with air patrol and Sydney, the back-up team." Sloane ignored Jack's death glare.

(meanwhile)

"Was she willing to undergo hypnosis?" Marshall asked Chase as the hypnotist started to tell their prisoner to relax. He and the director are standing behind the one-way mirror, waiting for the actual session to start.

"Because if she isn't, she'll probably-"

"Mr. Flinkman," Chase interrupted, a bit exasperated with Marshall's worrying. "She's a willing candidate."

He looked at the Director uncertainly before returning his gaze to their prisoner. The girl doesn't look like she's willing to impart anything and if that's the case then they will not get information from her.

The hypnotist started to count backwards. After a few minutes, the questions started.

(…back in the meeting…)

"If there are no more questions, you may leave. Marshall will be seeing you later for the op-tech."

Sloane leaned back on his chair and watched as the agents started to stream out of the room. He half-expected Jack to stay and confront him about the arrangements, but Jack was one of the first people to leave the room, along with Sydney.

Sydney hurried towards her desk, intending to read the DNA results Marshall gave her. She's both excited and frightened.

'What will you do if you're wrong?' a voice in her head asked, but she quickly brushed it away. There is no way she could be wrong. She reached her desk and plopped down on the chair. Quickly, she grabbed the folder and opened it.

Her heart skipped a beat as she scanned the documents. Biting her lip, she closed the folder and tried to think of what to do.

After a few minutes, she stood up and looked for her father.

-x-x-x-

He walked around the hotel room, half-naked with a towel wrapped around his waist, waiting for a phone call. He has been staying in this five-star hotel for almost five days now. Tomorrow, he will check out and move into another. He can't afford to be caught staying in one place.

There was a knock on the door. He took a small dagger lying on the bed before walking towards it. He looked at the peephole and found a young woman in a maid's uniform. It was room service.

He hid the knife behind his back before opening the door.

"Good evening sir." She said. He waited for her to come inside, but the woman seemed to be rooted in her spot. It seems that she's too busy looking at him and his half-naked body to budge from her position.

He cleared his throat.

"Uh, room service, sir? Your dinner?" she stuttered, and pushed the cart inside. She began to flit nervously when she felt his eyes follow her.

He smiled, amused at her actions, "You may leave it by the table."

A few minutes later, he's alone again. He also wore pants.

He munched on a carrot as he typed some things in his laptop. Suddenly, his cell phone rang.

"Yes?"

_"Check your connection to the server."_

He followed the instruction and checked the outflow of data from the CIA server. He clicked on the newest communiqué sent to Langley.

"Thanks." He said and ended the call. He then took another cell phone and called an associate.

"Meet me at the airport. They're going to transfer her in three days."

-x-x-x-

"Ma'am, they're going to move her to Langley."

Olivia Reed looked at the man in front of her and smiled. "Organise a team to extract her."

The man nodded his head. "Uh, Agent Nadia Santos will be accompanying her too."

Her smile became wider. "Good. This is good." A pensive look cam across her face. "If that's the case, I want you to kill the girl. Take the agent instead."

"Alive, ma'am?"

"Yes, of course."


	25. twenty four

**CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR**

Miniscule surveillance cameras peppered the inside and the outside of the bus transporting Alexia Vadison and ten US Marshals to the airstrip. Two SUV's were escorting the bus— Vaughn was inside the first SUV while Nadia was in the second. Both cars were also fitted with cameras. Jack was sure that Mikhail Premenov will break Alexia out of custody. And he's sure he will be caught.

_'Your son…your daughter… both in custody.'_

The monitors showed different angles inside the bus and the scenery outside. One of the monitors shows their prisoner calmly looking out of the window, watching the greenery the bus is passing.

_"We have a road block a hundred meters away."_ Vaughn's voice echoed in the conference room.

"Proceed with caution." Sloane commanded as he walked towards Jack's position.

Sloane glanced at him. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"He'll fall for it." Jack answered, "And we'll be a step closer to Irina."

"You did read what Sydney gave you, right?'

Marshall tried not to listen to his boss' conversation, but he had to admit that it is interesting. He tried to concentrate on the monitors, but Jack and Sloane's conversation is distracting him.

"And how did you know about that?"

"She thought I could convince you."

Jack glared at him, "I don't think-"

"Uh, sir?" Marshall interrupted. Both men looked at him.

Marshall opened his mouth and then closed it again. He's pointing at the monitors.

Suddenly, the sound of gunshots began to blast in the speakers of their monitors.

-x-x-x-

Their SUV came to a halt. Nadia began to give out orders to the agents accompanying her.

"But Agent Santos, the girl-"

"I'll get her." They stepped out of the car. Nadia could hear Vaughn's voice in her earpiece giving orders to the agents with him. "Cover me." She shouted and ran towards the bus.

-x-x-x-

"DOWN!"

One of them pulled her out of the chair and onto the floor, shielding her from the gunfire.

She felt wary of the situation. If this was her extraction team, they wouldn't be ordered to shoot anyone in broad daylight nor with real bullets. That was just plain suicide.

She tried to wriggle out of the pile, but the Marshals were preventing her from doing so. She can hear them shouting at each other, giving out orders. She needs to get away from this. This is not her brother's work.

Unexpectedly, the bodies shielding her from the bullets collapsed and fell on top of her. Her head hit the floor hard.

Once again, she tried to squirm her way out, but stopped when her head seemed like it was going to be dislodged from her neck. Heavy footsteps thundered in her ears and the voices, muffled as they were, echoed in the bus.

Fear started to creep in. She couldn't breathe. The US Marshals are dead—she can feel their blood trickling her back.

The weight on top of her suddenly lightened and she was forcibly pulled up to her feet.

A gun was shoved in her face.

"Where is she?" The man snarled. There are other armed men with him.

She blinked, confused at the question, "Where's who?" she could hear blazing gunfire outside.

"The Passenger." The man hissed.

-x-x-x-

"Shotgun, we can't get to Nadia. Don't let her get to the bus."

Both Sloane and Jack paced around the room. Someone else—most probably the Covenant received the fake communiqué. Nadia was in great danger.

"Where is the Passenger!" The man repeated.

Jack could only watch as his youngest daughter stared at the gun pointed at her. Both her wrists and ankles are cuffed. The chains are long, but her movements were limited.

"Phoenix, Retriever, move in."

-x-x-x-

She quickly assessed her situation. Three armed men against a defenseless and restrained girl. Her head is in line with a gun and there are six dead bodies, plus three live ones are blocking her way.

_You'll die, you'll die, you'll die…_

'No, I won't.' She thought as her heart pounded and adrenaline started to pump through her system.

She took her chance.

"WHERE IS SHE!"

As quick as lightning, she twisted the gun away from the man using the chains on her wrists.

The man was taken completely by surprise, but before he could react, he was shot between the eyes.

She used the body as a shield from the enemy inside the bus. She fired back; making sure that she hits their heads. The remaining men were wearing bullet proof vests.

The men fell down. She then positioned the gun so that the nozzle is facing the chains of her handcuffs. She turned her head away and pulled the trigger. The chains were obliterated almost immediately. The same process was repeated for the shackles on her ankles.

A movement by the entrance of the bus caught her eye. Raising the gun, she shot the intruder.

-x-x-x-

Nadia's heart jumped into her throat when she felt the bullet whiz past her, almost missing her ear. She looked behind her and saw an enemy agent falling out of the bus.

"You okay?" the girl asked as she walked over the corpses.

Nadia nodded her head, unable to speak. But the scene outside the window alarmed her. Men with M-16's poised their weapons at the windows of the bus.

"GET DOWN!" Nadia shouted and ran towards their prisoner.

She pulled her down to the floor just in time. The bullets shattered the windows, showering them with shards of broken glass.

"We have to get out of here." Nadia whispered, "Let's go. Keep your head down."

They crawled their way out of the bus, with Nadia leading. The broken windows cut their hands as they evade the downpour.

-x-x-x-

Marshall furiously tried to salvage the video feed as the monitors died one by one.

"Revert to the cameras in the SUV, Marshall." Sloane said.

Marshall followed the order and reverted to the SUV's. Sloane and Jack could only watch as their agents kill the adversaries and die in the exchange of gunfire.

"Uh, sir? I think they have a back-up coming." Marshall reported.

In one of the monitors, they saw Mikhail Premenov step out of the car and began shooting the Covenant's men.

The real extraction team has arrived

-x-x-x-

They're hiding by the side of the bus, waiting for the right time to move.

Sofya began pulling out the small pieces of glass that had become embedded in her palms. It was a painful process, but it they might get infected otherwise.

"What are you doing?" Nadia asked, quite alarmed with the blood that was flowing out of the girl's hands, "Are you insane?"

"It's nothing." Sofya answered as tears stung her eyes.

Nadia took out a handkerchief from her pocket and gave it to her. She then took the key to the shackles and began to unlock of what remains of the cuffs.

"What are you doing?"

"You won't be able to run properly if you have chains flying in your direction." Nadia answered.

_"Nadia, what is your position?"_

"We're by the bus." She answered and began to walk towards the rear of the vehicle. "Stay here." She ordered the girl and quietly crept away.

The gunshots had lessened, but were still echoing around the area.

Sofya looked at the handkerchief in her hand. It was soaked with her blood.

"Eew." She muttered. She then looked at the agent's back. She looks so much like her mother. Actually, she and another agent, the one she calls Overbite, resembles her mother a lot.

_'Who did I see when I got hit by that car?'_ she thought as she squeezed the hanky.

Nadia went back to the girl's original position. "Let's go." She said and took the girl's wrist. They started to creep towards the back part of the bus.

Halfway through, Sofya stopped moving.

"Wait, someone's calling me."

"IYA!"

Nadia heard the name amidst the noise. "What did he call you?"

The girl wasn't able to respond when an earth shattering explosion pushed them off the ground.

-x-x-x-

Nathan watched in horror as his sister's body flew backwards from the impact like she was a rag doll. He started to bark out orders to his men. Do this, do that… the enemy fire seemed endless and if this insanity didn't stop… he didn't know what to do.

What he did know though, was to get his sister out of there.

He ran towards his twin, while at the same time, ducking the line of bullets.

She was lying on the side of the road, groaning in pain.

"Iya." He kneeled down and checked her for any injuries. "Iya."

She looked at him. Her face is riddled with numerous cuts and her cheeks are stained with dirt and tears.

"s, look at you. Are you okay?" He asked.

"No." She whimpered. "But hell—pull me up, Nate."

He shook his head. "Your arms are bleeding."

"PULL. ME. UP."

Nathan shook his head again but pulled her up. He made sure that he was supporting most of her weight.

"Where is she?" she asked when she was able to stand.

"Who?"

"The agent with me." Sofya looked behind her and saw men with masks taking her away. She seemed unconscious. "Oh no…"

"What?" Nathan asked and looked at the direction his sister is looking.

"They were looking for the Passenger. If they're taking her away, then that must mean she's the one they are looking for."

Nathan looked at her. "The Passenger... Rambaldi?"

"Yes." She answered and looked expectantly at him. She wants him to get her back.

"No, I have to get you out of here." Nathan said and started to tug her towards the opposite direction.

"Hey, I know this better than you." Sofya hissed.

"So what?" Nathan answered. "Your face, your arms and your hands are bleeding. Do you want to die?"

"But she'll die. Just get her back. Please?" she said.

He made a face. "Brat." He muttered but gave in to her request. He made her sit by a tree and gave her his extra gun and a handkerchief.

"Don't move." Nathan warned and ran after the men.

Sofya hid herself from view and tried to stop her wounds from bleeding too much. Tears ran down her cheeks as she dabbed her face with the cloth.

It then occurred to her that her brother might need assistance. Cursing silently, she slowly stood up and followed him.

-x-x-x-

"Where's Nadia?" Sydney asked when she saw Weiss running towards her.

"I don't know, but if they don't stop coming…" he breathlessly answered, referring to the Covenant's men.

_"Sydney, I just saw Mikhail Premenov running to the woods. Vadison told him to go after Nadia. Don't worry; Vaughn's going to go to the girl's location."_

She looked at Weiss. "She's in the woods."

They were running towards the trees when both agents heard a distress call in their ear pieces. It was Vaughn.

_"I need back-up, paramedic… anything."_

"It might take a while-"

"I don't have a while, Marshall!"

Weiss looked at Sydney. It could only mean one thing. "I'll get Nadia. Go."

-x-x-x-

"You idiot, what did you do?"

"You said to inject the girl-"

"Not this girl!"

Nathan could see an SUV on the dirt road. The agent Sofya was talking about is in one of the men's arms, unconscious and convulsing.

"Get the antidote."

"What?"

"The antidote, you ass!"

Nathan watched as one of the men injects the agent with… something. He said it was an antidote, but for what? He readied his gun and waited.

"Let's go."

He felt that it was his signal to move. Nathan fired two shots. The men fell to the ground, dead. Nathan then ran towards the agent.

"Hey." He said, but she is unconscious. He checked her pulse and found it slowing down.

_'This girl… looks like mama.'_

Nathan hoisted her up and started to carry her on his back. "Ugh, you're heavy." He muttered as he walked back to the busy street razed with gunfire and dead bodies.

He saw an agent running towards his position, looking around. From his appearance, he could bet that he is with the CIA.

'What now, Nathan?' a thought asked. Common sense told him to leave the agent behind, get his sister and escape, but this agent was most probably poisoned. The antidote might not be able to stop it completely.

Nathan decided fast.

"Hey! Hey!"

-x-x-x-

Sydney kneeled next to Vaughn, who is trying to stop the blood from continuously gushing out of Alexia Vadison's stomach.

"Oh my god, what happened?" she asked and took out a small first aid kit from her pocket.

"She was stabbed." Vaughn answered, "And she killed the person who stabbed her."

"She what!"

The girl started to choke. Her face is pale, almost lifeless. Her lips are almost blue and her pupils are dilated.

"Breathe, sweetie." Sydney whispered. Turning to Vaughn, she said, "She's losing a lot of blood."

"Paramedics are on their way." Vaughn answered and disposed of the bloody cloth. He then tore off part of his shirt and pressed it on the wound.

Sofya's eyes fluttered and closed. Tears started to stream out of her lids, burning the open wounds on her face. The sensation in her stomach is painful, but it had started to dull bit by bit. The sound around her was beginning to fade away slowly.

She was going to die.

"Mommy…"

In the distance, she heard her brother's voice, shouting—no screaming at her.

_"Goddamit, Sofya. Wake up!"_

Her eyes opened.

"Nate?" she weakly asked. His name could barely leave her lips.

He felt a little bit relieved. She's still alive, thank god.

"You're okay. Hang in there. The ambulance will be here." He said and took her left hand. Her blood stained his fingers, but he didn't care.

Sydney looked at the young man in front of her. Her brother… her brother is here.

"Check her pulse." Sydney said.

Nathan looked at the female agent, blankly. He didn't hear her.

"Check her pulse." She repeated. This time, he obeyed her. He took Sofya's wrist and felt her pulse barely flickering.

"I-I-its barely there." Nathan stuttered. 's, s, s. What am I going to do? She's going to die!'

The sirens of the ambulance are drawing close.

"Nate." Sofya called. He looked at her. "Tell mom, okay? The truth?" she squeezed her brother's hand. It was more for assurance than that of fear.

-x-x-x-

Marshall had tears in his eyes. Sloane is extremely worried. Jack is horrified.

_"Sofya, don't you dare die on me!"_ They watched as the boy started to cry, while Sydney and Vaughn tried to 'save' the girl.

_"Don't go… mom just came back…"_

-x-x-x-

It all happened so fast. The ambulance arrived. The paramedics came. They were shoved aside but all of them asked questions about everything.

His head is spinning. He felt distressed and numb at the same time, fear seeping through him. How can he take this? How will his mother take this?

"Blood transfusion. We'll need lots of it."

He began to speak, but he couldn't hear the words. I have the same blood type, I can give my blood to her… what else did he say? He couldn't remember.

They tried to get more information from him. But he couldn't speak. He couldn't hear them. He can only see.

Her body was on the stretcher. She's not dead, but she's going to be.

Tears streamed out of his eyes.

His fault.

It was his fault.

-x-x-x-


	26. twenty five

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE**

_"Clear!"_

The girl's body jerked upward. Nothing happened. She's still in flat line. Never did he expect that he has it in him to kill his own daughter. But here it is, in front of him. His daughter is dead.

_"Clear!"_

It is his fault. He was the one who proposed the mission, proposed the plan. He didn't think that someone else could get that information in the compromised server. Never did that possibility occur to him. How could he have been so stupid?

The nurses closed the curtains to the viewing room. It is as if, they don't want him to see how his daughter will die in the operating table.

They said that her lungs might give and she might drown in her own blood. But the doctors were wrong. Her heart gave out. It stopped. Maybe because her heart knew that her father was the reason behind her suffering.

'Don't be silly, Jack.'

He gave the window to the operating room a steely glare. He can't believe how pathetic he has become. And all because of self-denial to protect himself from something he had suspected for some time.

The door to the viewing room opened and Sydney came in.

"Dad…" she trailed off when she saw the curtains closed. "What happened? Why are-"

"She went into a flat line." Jack said in a dreary tone. He looked at his eldest daughter. A horrified expression is very visible in her face.

"Is she…?" she trailed off again. She doesn't want to think about it. She's not dead. Sofya was raised as a Derevko and Derevko's don't die easily.

"I don't think so." Jack answered. If Sofya's dead, someone would have informed them already. He decided to change the subject. He can see Sydney's distress with the matter. "How is Nadia?"

Sydney let out a deep breath. "She's fine. I think. The doctors said that the antidote saved her life although, they have to pump out the poison since it was enough to kill a horse. They kicked me out of her room."

Jack massaged his temple. "And Nathan?"

"He disappeared when he saw the agents readying to get him into custody. They're trying to look for him right now."

Her father shook his head. "They're not going to find him."

Sydney heard the exhaustion and frustration in his voice. She looked at him. A part of her wants him to open up to her, to be human in her eyes again. Another part of her wants to leave him.

The minutes ticked by. The minutes turned into hours, but neither of them left. The curtains are still drawn together and still no word from the doctors. Sydney's hope is slowly fading away.

Jack cleared his throat. Sydney looked at him, but before he could say anything, a doctor went inside the viewing room.

"Doctor." Sydney greeted. Fear is traceable in her voice.

The doctor looked at her and then to Jack.

"Your daughter… she pulled through." The doctor started. "She's alive. Critical, but stable."

The expression on Sydney's face changed. Relief is very visible in her features.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. She's too overwhelmed to say anything coherent at the moment. She wants this family to be whole again.

"She's put up one hell of a fight." The doctor added. "We'll be keeping her in an induced coma, for a while. What happened during the surgery… it has complications."

"What kind of complications?" Jack asked. Concern is very clear in his tone.

The doctor took a deep breath before starting his 'discussion', "You see, her heart stopped beating for three minutes…" he then enumerated the possible complications that might arise with the three minute death.

The medical conversation ended after a few minutes. The doctor then said goodbye with a promise that Sofya will be okay.

Sydney turned to her father. He was going to say something to her before the doctor arrived and interrupted him.

"Uh," he started, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Your sisters… it's my fault. I'm sorry that I didn't want to believe you-" but before he could finish his apology, his cell phone rang.

He looked at Sydney before taking his phone from his pocket.

"Bristow."

_"We need you in the office, now."_

"Can't it wait?"

_"There was no sign of Irina Derevko in Turkey."_

Jack's eyes widened. "What?" A fast glance at his daughter told him that she heard the surprise in his voice. "How can that be?"

_"That's one of the reason why I need you here right now."_

Jack sighed. "Fine. I'll be there." After ending the call and placing the phone back to his pocket, he turned to Sydney.

"I have to go."

He turned to leave. When he was almost out of the room, Sydney called out to him.

"Dad."

He looked back to her, but she just shook her head. She wants to say goodbye to him, but found out that she can't say anything to him at this moment.

"It's nothing."

-x-x-x-

Irina paced around the library, agitated, but trying to calm herself. Nathan informed her, rather incoherently, that Sofya is in critical condition. He told her the chaos that ensued during the extraction. He couldn't tell her how it exactly happened, but she knows that Sofya sustained serious injuries. Wounds from an explosion, bruises and a knife wound in her stomach. Nathan said that a blood transfusion occurred, but he doesn't know the outcome.

She looked at her watch. He promised that he will call again, this time bearing the results of the surgery. Irina then looked out of the window. It's been an hour since the last call. Is her daughter dead? Did Jack do anything about the chaos? Or did he orchestrate the pandemonium to find her even if he knew it meant risking a girl's life?

She shook her head, trying to rid away the depressing thought. It's a desperate move that Jack rarely takes. And besides, he's not that pathetic.

Deciding that she will not get anywhere pacing around, she turned on the television. The channel was tuned in to CNN, and the news anchor was reporting about a terrorist attack in Los Angeles that killed twenty people and left six injured.

Irina stared at the screen. The scene in front of her was that of total destruction. Dead, bloody bodies, remnants of a bus and overturned SUVs' her that it was very, very serious.

'Oh my god... Sofya...'

Her cell phone rang. Nathan, finally.

"Nate, how is she?" Irina asked, a bit frantically.

_"She's fine. The records said that she's critical but in stable condition."_

Irina didn't feel relieved at all. Critical but in stable condition? What's that supposed to mean?

_"Everything was a trap, mama. They were using her as bait." Nathan angrily said. "There was a compromised server in their agency and they thought that I was behind it. Some one else received the communiqué."_

"Do you know who attacked?" Irina asked. Her concern and exasperation is being overpowered by fear for her children's safety.

_"No, but I know who planned the entrapment and the communiqué."_

"Who?" Irina asked, and closed her eyes. She's hoping that her guess is wrong.

_"A Jack Bristow."_

She bit her lip. She's not speechless, but still...

_"I'm going to pay him a little visit."_

Before she could interject, Nathan ended his call.

She looked at her phone, and tried to call him but Nathan had already turned off his cell phone. Irina tried to think of a way to stop her son. Her son will do something irrational and she can't let him go through with it.

Irina tried to call her an old friend but he's not responding. She then decided to call her sister for help.

"Lena? Is your husband there? He's not answering his phone."

-x-x-x-  
(That evening)

Sydney entered the house, bone tired. Her father didn't return to the hospital after he was called by Sloane. It was a good thing that Weiss and Vaughn came to keep her company.

She wants to crawl in her bed and sleep. The day has just been so horrible and she's exhausted. Explosions, gunfire and death. She wants to get away from it, even if it's just for a few hours. Frankly speaking, she can't see the point in continuing what she's doing, but this is what she knows what to do.

'God, I need a break.'

She turned on the lights to the living room. It flickered as she walked into the kitchen, but she took no notice of it. She then took a glass of water from the sink and drank it straight up.

Sydney sighed and leaned on the countertop. She has enough strength to brush her teeth and slip into bed.

"Your security is so lax, it's really a wonder how you've become a CIA agent."

Her breath got caught in her throat. Sydney whirled around. Her eyes widened when she saw Nathan sitting on the sofa, looking at her.

"How did you..." she asked, trying to buy herself time. There is a gun in one of the drawers and she needs to get it before he could pull a gun on her.

"Through your front door, of course." Nathan answered. He then looked at the reflection in the metallic refrigerator and found her reaching for one of the drawers. "Oh, I took the gun in your knife drawer."

Sydney's heart began to beat faster. She is alone and unarmed.

"What do you want?" she asked a bit shakily. She couldn't contain her feeling of apprehension.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything," he tried to think of an appropriate word for his sentence, "Irrational."

He stood up and approached her. He seems very sinister wearing a black turtleneck, corduroy pants and leather shoes. His scar adds to the look of nefariousness.

"I want to know where your father is."

Sydney scoffed. "What makes you think I'll give it to you that easily?" she asked. If the situation isn't as grave as she thinks, she would have laughed.

Nathan shrugged, "We could do it the hard way or the easy way. Its up to you."

"Then I'd rather do it the hard way." Sydney answered, giving him a steely glare.

They faced each other. Nathan has leaned on the countertop, an eyebrow raised, "Are you sure about that?" he asked, in an interested tone.

Sydney then realised how much he resembles her father. No, their, father. The crook of his eyebrow, the slope of the nose, his lips and his eyes... they are all from their father.

Suddenly, a beeping tone interrupted their staring contest. Nathan took something out of his pocket—a PDA.

A small smile escaped her lips when he read the contents of the information sent to him. He then placed it back to his pocket and looked at Sydney.

"I won't need your answer anymore, Ms. Bristow." He said. He then raised a gun and shot Sydney in the heart.

Sydney's vision blurred and then dimmed. Her body slumped forward.

A few hours later, she woke up lying on her bed. She's groggy and her head is aching. She looked at the digital clock by her side table. Its midnight.

'How did I get here?'

The minutes passed and fragments of what happened hours ago came flooding back to her.

'Oh my god, dad!' she stood up and rushed towards the living room. She took the cordless phone and frantically called her father.

_"The subscriber cannot be reached. Please try again later."_

Sydney tried again, but got the same answer.

"Oh my god!"

-x-x-x-

They stared at each other for the first time. The young man seemingly a clone of the older one. Both have the same stance, the same glare on their faces, but only one with a gun in his hand.

"Mr. Bristow, what a very horrible way to meet." Nathan said, stressing the agent's name. He kept his hand steady on Jack's head.

"What do you want?" Jack asked, looking at the nine millimeter in his son's hands. He knows that the boy is capable of using it. After all, he is a Derevko.

Nathan is three inches shorter than him, but he knows that his son has the advantage of youth, lightning quick moves and a trigger happy finger.

"That's easy, Mr. Bristow. I came here for revenge."

"In the basement garage of my apartment?" Jack asked, "Why not make your revenge public?"

Nathan angled his head, a manner that his mother and his twin perform, "You're not that important for your death to be publicised." He took off the safety of his gun, "Take off all your weapons."

He obeyed and lowered his guns to the floor.

"Turn around and put your hands behind your head."

Jack tried to think of a way to get out of this situation. He will not let himself be killed by his own son.

Nathan hit the agent at the base of his neck using the butt of the gun. The action made Jack grunt and fall to his knees. A powerful kick to his back made his face slam into the side of his car.

He groaned in pain and tried to stand up. Nathan's footsteps echoed around him.

His son's foot connected to his stomach. Jack curled up in agony. The impact of the kick seems to have squashed his internal organs. He tried to roll away.

Nathan kicked him in the jaw.

"Oh, god" Jack choked. His eyes watered.

Rage is clearly defined in Nathan's features. He couldn't help it. His sister almost died—no, she died for three minutes and came back to life. If anything happens to her, then Jack Bristow is responsible.

A burst of anger surged through him. Without any thought, he kicked the agent again and again in the stomach.

Time seemed to still. Jack could barely breathe. He's actually wondering how he's still alive after all the kicks.

Nathan stopped. He's tired, not because of his violent behavior but because of the chaos that happened that day. He needs to end this now.

He rolled him to his back and stepped on his chest. He pointed the gun on Jack's face.

"You left her to die. You wanted to die." He hissed, "For that, I want you to die."

Jack looked at Nathan directly in the eyes.

They were his eyes too.

"You're a brave man to look at the eyes of your murderer, Mr. Bristow." The man's eyes took him by surprise that he actually hesitated to shoot him. But revenge took over again.

Nathan was going to squeeze the trigger when divine intervention came.

A gun was cocked behind his head.

"Drop your gun, Nathan."

He didn't do anything. He kept his gun in front of Jack's face.

"Drop it, Nathan. Or else."

"Or else, what Uncle Benjamin? You'll shoot me?"

"I will, if you do anything stupid." He nudged Nathan with his Heckler-Koch, a preference he had since he left the Marines, "Move."

Nathan took one step to hi left and glared at his uncle. His uncle, on the other hand, is looking at his nephew's victim. A horrible bruise is forming on Jack's jaw and his lips are cracked open and bleeding.

"Go to your car, Nathan." He ordered.

"No."

He looked at his nephew, "I said go to your car."

His nephew gave him a glare that is identical to the glare Jack Bristow is shooting him. But Nathan obeyed him and stiffly walked away.

Benjamin Petersen watched his nephew enter his car before returning his attention back to his former colleague. He is obviously in a tremendous amount of pain.

He kneeled beside Jack, "I just saved your ass from being killed by your own son. If I were you, I'd watched my back because he'll try again. And if Sofya dies, watch your back extra carefully, because it will be Irina who'll be coming after you."

He took something from his pocket and laid it on top of Jack's chest.

"A little gift from me and my wife."

He stood up and left him. A few minutes later, the squeal of tires resounded in the garage, followed by another set of tires.

Jack's alone.

-x-x-x-

"Hello, Olivia."

Olivia Reed looked at the figure standing by the entrance of the terrace and found Mckenas Cole smiling at her.

"Cole, what a pleasant surprise." She said and motioned him to have a seat beside her.

He sat on the empty chair in front of Olivia instead, "He's not pleased, Olivia. He clearly stated not to hurt any of the Derevkos or the Bristows."

"But I didn't kill any of them."

"Then why are they in the hospital?"

"What?" Olivia exclaimed, "I specifically ordered them not to hurt Nadia Santos or Sydney Bristow."

"Not Sydney, Olivia. Sofya."

Olivia gave him a puzzled glance, "Sofya?"

Mckenas Cole sighed and began to tap his fingers on the glass table. "My former colleague's youngest daughter." He sighed and stood up, "Deal with your men, Olivia. You're coming off with a warning. Another incident like this and you might join your beloved husband and daughter in hell."

Olivia can just stare at him.

"Whatever you say, Cole." She managed to say.

He smiled charmingly at her, "That's my girl."


	27. twenty six

**A/N-Hello... if you want to read more advanced chapter, its posted sd-1 (dot) net... look for it in the J/I section :D**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

_The soft breeze tickled his face and blew his hair away from his closed lids. A soft smile escaped his lips as he opened his eyes. He had never felt so free in his entire life. _

He looked down and found himself standing barefoot in a green, luscious field. He kneeled down and touched the blades. They were so delicate. He never knew that the grass could feel so soft.

His brown eyes then roamed his surroundings. In the distance, he saw a woman standing by an oak tree, looking over and smiling at him.

Irina.

He hurriedly walked towards her. He had so many questions swirling in his head. Where are they? Why are they here? Why is she with him? Are they alone here?

"Hi." He greeted a bit breathlessly, staring at her. The questions were gone in his head. It was replaced by her face. She was so beautiful... more beautiful than the last time he saw her.

"I like what you're wearing." She said and lightly touched his shirt. "It's so... casual."

Jack looked at his clothes. He was wearing a white linen shirt and khaki pants. "Uh, thanks." He said a bit uncertainly. "I like what you're wearing too."

The pale yellow sundress made her look so bright and so radiant.

"Thank you." She smiled sweetly at him and took his hand. "Why do you look so confused?" she asked amused, as she gently brushed her hair away from her face.

He looked at their interlocked fingers and then gazed at her smiling face. She looked so happy... it had been so long since he had seen her face light up like this.

"It's because you're so damn beautiful."

She threw her head back and laughed. She then leaned towards him and looked deeply into his eyes. "That's the first time I heard that again after-"

Jack smiled at her and kissed her softly, not letting her finish.

"Hmm..." She wrapped her arms around him. "That felt nice."

He returned her embrace; the warmth of her skin bringing comfort to him.

"Where are the kids?" he whispered after a few minutes.

Suddenly, he was pulled down the ground. Water was encapsulating him, drowning him, trying to kill him.

He struggled to breathe, to swim to his safety, but something (or someone) was pushing him downwards. It doesn't want him to surface. His chest feels like it going to explode.

He was pulled up and onto dry land. Jack gasped for air.

A few minutes later when his breathing returned to normal, he sat down and looked around. Darkness and loneliness surrounded him. The trees were black, the skies were purple and the lake was red. Where was he?

A gun was suddenly shoved in his face. Nathan stood over him.

"You left her to die. You wanted her to die. For that, I want **you** to die."

Nathan squeezed the trigger. The gun fired.

Jack woke up with a start. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his heart was racing. He looked around. Sunlight was spilling into the room, the colloidal particles dancing around. He was in his bedroom, at home.

A dream. It was just a dream.

He let out a sigh and leaned on the headboard. He was still wearing his clothes from the night before.

A few minutes later, the base of his neck started to ache. So did his jaw and his stomach. Where were his painkillers?

Jack started to slip off the bed slowly. He started to think of the incidents last night. Benjamin Petersen gave him a DVD—a compilation of some home videos of the twins. He had watched it, and felt utterly pathetic at himself.

'What was his point in that? Did he want to hurt me emotionally? If that was his intent, he had partially succeeded.'' he thought as he walked towards the bathroom. His jaw was starting to scream in pain and the aspirin was in the medicine cabinet.

He looked at himself in the mirror. The right side of his jaw was swollen, his lower lip was busted. His face looked so horrible.

'Thank god it's a Saturday.'

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Jack looked at his watch. It's nine-thirty on a Saturday morning. Who's visiting him?

He slowly walked out of his bedroom and towards the front door. He couldn't determine fully the extent of the injury he received from his own son the previous night.

Jack looked through the peephole and found Sydney standing in front of the door, waiting. He sighed as he unbolted the locks. He didn't want her to see him like this.

"Oh my God, Dad! What happened?" Sydney exclaimed the moment she laid her eyes on her father's face, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay." Jack lied, "It's just a bruise."

"Just a bruise? Look at your face. It looks like it was kicked by a donkey." She answered, "Nathan did this, didn't he?"

He looked at her, "How did you know that?"

"He went to my house yesterday. He was asking where you were. I didn't give it to him and then he tranquilized me. It seems that he got your location."

"He waited for me in the garage." Jack answered and then opened the door wider for Sydney to enter, "Benjamin Petersen stopped Nathan from shooting me."

"Benjamin Petersen?" Sydney repeated. She had seen that person's name before. It was in one of the papers she found in Wittenberg. "Isn't he dead?" she asked as she stepped in the apartment.

"A lot of people are supposed to be dead." Jack answered dryly and closed the door. "I don't know the whole story, but I think he survived the explosion the same way your mother and siblings did."

"And how did mom survive the explosion?"

"I don't know." Jack answered. "You're not going to APO, are you?" He asked, noting his daughter's attire—a pink shirt with black streaks as the design, blue jeans and boots.

"No, I'm going to the hospital. I dropped by to check on you. You weren't answering your phone." Sydney replied, "We better put ice on that." She said, referring to the horrible bruise on her father's jaw.

She then looked around. This was the first time she stepped inside her father's apartment and it's a bit bare and... neat. The only clutter she could see was the laptop on the coffee table.

"Where's the kitchen?" Sydney asked, looking at him.

Jack pointed the way. His daughter didn't waste anytime and hurried away to get ice.

The kitchen was quite vacant, save for a metallic refrigerator and a few plates and glasses. There was only one chair at the dining table designed for four. She walked across the room and opened the fridge. Inside were a couple of Chinese takeouts, two bottles of water and cat food.

'Cat food?' Sydney asked herself as she closed the refrigerator. She then opened the built-in freezer and found a tray of ice. She grabbed the hand towel by the nearest cupboard and wrapped it around a clump of ice cubes.

Sydney walked out of the kitchen and found her father seated on the sofa, looking at a DVD casing. She handed the towel to him before sitting beside him.

"Your apartment is so..."

"Empty?" he said, completing her sentence. "I haven't had the time to buy things."

"I also noticed that you have cat food in your fridge."

She thought she saw her father smile. "There's a stray cat that comes every now and then."

Sydney watched him as he pressed the towel on his bruise. A slight grimace came with the action, but it quickly dissipated.

"What exactly happened last night?" she asked after a few minutes.

Jack sighed, "Nathan blamed for what happened. He poured out all his anger by beating me and then decided that it's better that he kill me."

"And then Benjamin Petersen 'saved' you?"

He nodded his head, "He's alive. And he goes by the name Pitte Benson."

Sydney gaped at him, "The one Sofya called uncle?"

"She had a very valid reason to call him that." Jack muttered, pressing the towel harder to the bruise. He reached out to the coffee table and took the casing of the DVD and gave it to Sydney.

"What's in it?" she asked, looking at it interestingly.

"Something Benjamin Petersen wanted me to see." He answered and then turned on his laptop before standing up. "I'm going to make some coffee." It was an invitation to stay.

Sydney smiled at him, "That sounds great. Thanks."

He walked towards the kitchen at a snail's pace. He was happy that Sydney was there. He doesn't know who else to share it with.

He's a lousy father— that he knows. Was it too late to start over?

"What time are you going to the hospital?" he called out after putting the beans in the coffee maker.

"I was thinking about a little before lunch." Sydney answered, "Why?"

"I'll be coming with you."

-x-x-x-

_(1995, towards the end of summer, Italy) _

"Aunt Katya, can we stop walking for a while? Please?"

Katya looked at her nephew, who was holding her right hand. Eight year old Nathan wore a little frown on his face.

"Yes, Aunt Katya, can we?" Sofya, asked, tugging her left hand, "I'm hungry."

"After this store, okay? Your mother told me to buy you clothes." Katya answered, trying to pacify the twins. Their temper tantrums might have mellowed, but they could still throw a nasty fit.

Nathan's frown grew bigger, "Mama said that, but we wear uniforms to school. Why will we need new clothes?"

She sighed, "You outgrew all your clothes. Do you want to go out naked because you can't fit in your clothes?" Her response made Sofya giggle and Nathan smile a bit, "This will be quick. Then we'll go eat anywhere you like to eat."

"Anywhere? Even where mommy doesn't want us to eat?" her niece asked, her eyes growing wide.

Katya smiled mischievously, "Yes, we can eat anywhere you like, sweetheart."

She had lost track of the days she had been inside her cell, and all she could do, besides eat, sleep, read 'The Count of Monte Cristo' repeatedly and stare into space, was reminisce. She loved Irina's twins and even if they abhorred her right now, that wouldn't stop her from being concerned about them, especially when Arvin Sloane had discovered that they are still alive.

She caressed the worn spine of the paperback. She sighed and looked at the metal bars directly in front of her. Her brows rose when she saw who was standing by it and watching her.

Sydney Bristow.

"Sydney," she greeted and slipped off the bed, "What a pleasant surprise."

Her niece didn't answer and stared stoically at her. She could act like a stone, just like her father.

"What brings you here?" Katya asked, as she sauntered towards her, "You're one of the people I least expect to visit me."

"Let's cut the pleasantries, shall we?" Sydney answered, "I want answers to my questions."

"And what are those questions?" She asked in a saccharine tone.

Sydney clenched her jaw as she gazed at her aunt. The twins adored her. She knows that fact because of the home videos she watched in the DVD.

"Questions about my twin siblings. You know, the ones responsible for putting you in here?"

Katya's smile grew wider, "So you already know about them." Without waiting for Sydney to reply, she continued, "Have you met them?"

"Well, one of them died for three minutes and the other one broke into my house, tranquilized me and then tried to kill my father." Sydney replied, a bit acerbically. "We're now looking for our mother."

There was a flash of horror in Katya's eyes, but was quickly masked, "Is Sofya okay?"

Sydney pursed her lips together. Her aunt knows her brother and sister well.

"I'm asking the questions here."

Katya crossed her arms in front of her, "Irina's restless. I don't know where she might possibly be." She answered, lying through her teeth. Irina's either in Italy or London. She had a beautiful house in both countries and both houses have panoramic views. It was good for recuperation.

Sydney started to leave, but Katya called out to her, "A word of advice," her niece looked at her, and she continued, "You're twin siblings are resourceful and intelligent people. You should be careful."

"You're warning me?"

"I'm warning all of you. Only Irina knows the extent of their capabilities." Katya turned her back and went to her bed. Sydney stared at her for a few minutes before leaving.

Katya frowned, recalling the things Sydney told her.

'Three minute death?'

-x-x-x-

Nathan crawled in the ventilation shaft, like a cockroach roaming at night—unwanted and yet unnoticed. He knows that he's insane to venture inside a CIA run hospital. He will lose everything if he fails. He will lose his freedom, he will lose his family. He will lose everything he treasures in his life.

_"You're mother will not be able to help you if you get caught."_

He checked his location. According to the blueprint he had acquired, he was a few feet away from the shaft that leads to his sister's room.

A few seconds later, he noiselessly took the screw driver from his chest pocket and started to unscrew the shaft.

Minutes passed. He silently slid the metal off the opening and slipped in,

He was in the bathroom and it was very dark, but since he was wearing night-vision goggles, he wouldn't have any problems moving around. He took out his Palm Pilot and looked at it. He had tapped into the surveillance system of the hospital and he could see what the security team was seeing.

He encoded commands and the monitors that showed the inside of Sofya's hospital room froze discreetly. He had a five minute window for this insanity.

Nathan approached the door and turned the knob. He knew that outside the room, there were three agents sitting by the entrance, waiting for their shift to finish.

'They are so confident that no one will do this.' He thought as he stealthily slithered inside. He blended with the darkness with ease.

He approached the bed and kneeled down. Reaching for his back pocket, he took out a small knife—something his sister liked to use both in cutting and threatening, and a tranq gun. He plastered it beneath the bed so that she could access it easily when the time for her escape comes.

"I'll get some coffee." One of the agents outside said. That prompted him to look at his watch. He had less than four minutes left.

Nathan slowly stood up and looked at his sister. She was in deep sleep. He knew that she hadn't woken up yet. They called it 'induced' coma. The doctors said that it was to help her.

'I do hope they're right.' He thought and slightly touched her hand.

"You'll be coming home, Iya." He said silently, and took out a small box. He opened it and lifted a minute, latex-like com link. It had the exact same color as his sister's skin. He placed it behind his sister's ear. He then walked around the bed and plastered a listening device no bigger than his fingernail on the side table.

He looked at his watch again. Less than three minutes left.

A pressurized tube appeared in his hand that contained a miniscule surveillance camera. He aimed it at one corner of the room and fired. He looked at his PDA. The camera had now registered. He was done.

He took one last look at his sister.

"Wake up soon," He whispered.

He then slipped away with the darkness as his cloak.  
-x-x-x-


	28. twenty seven

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

Nathan leaned back on the chair, munching on the bag of chips and watching the computer monitor in front of him. He's staying in the Majestic, under the name of his friend, Cedric Averson IV, who smuggled him in. His friend, on the other hand, is back in school.

He watched the scene in front of him unfold. The man he almost killed is visiting his sister. This is the third day in a row that Jack Bristow stepped into Sofya's room to check on her. But since she's still asleep, there's nothing to do but watch her and then leave.

_"How is she doing?" the agent asked, standing by Sofya's bed. A female doctor, about a foot shorter than him, appeared._

"The statistics are good," She answered, taking the clipboard by the foot of the bed. "I'm not going to be surprised if she wakes up tomorrow or the day after."

"That's good, right?"

"Oh, yes. It's a very good sign of her recovery."

Nathan, though very perplexed at Jack Bristow's concern and visits, (even his daughter drops in at least once a day) is very pleased with the news. Their birthday is coming and he wants to be out of this country before that.

He reached for his can of soda and started to drink it.

_"Your daughter will be alright, sir. You don't have to worry."_

The soda almost sputtered out of his nose when he heard the comment. 'Daughter? His daughter!'

He wiped his mouth and tried to think. His mother was with Jack Bristow for ten years, from 1971 to 1981. They had a daughter, Sydney Bristow, his half sister. That was the reason why he didn't do anything rash when he came to her house.

And he's the only one who knows about this information. His mother doesn't know that he knows about it.

He took the thick folder by the side of the computer. It has everything on Jack Bristow—his missions, his personal life. Nathan started to read it again. Bristow didn't try to correct the doctor with his relation to his sister. They are in a CIA-run hospital. Patients, whether they are criminals or agents, will be treated with the same medical support that they will need. The only difference with them is the level of security needed. Jack Bristow doesn't have to pretend.

Then, realization struck him. He could remember his Uncle Benjamin's words from the night he interfered his murder attempt.

**_"You don't know who you're dealing with. I don't want you to regret this in the future."_**

His first thought with those words is that he will be forever haunted by his actions. Or that Sydney Bristow and the CIA will hunt him down. Or that his mother will get angry at him. Thinking about it now, he believes that Benjamin Petersen knew something that he didn't know that night.

Nathan knows he's not stupid. And he knows that his skills in deduction are very, very good. His uncle was telling him something that night. He's telling him that Jack Bristow is his father.

Horrified at the thought, he stared at the photograph. They have the same lips, the arch of his eyebrows, the crook of the nose and the humongous ears. Why didn't he see it before?

'Am I a clone of this man?' he thought incredulously, slamming the folder shut. He stood up and started to pace around.

"Uncle Benj, you oaf…" he muttered, rubbing his face with his hands. His mother will call any minute now. How will he tackle her with this?

His cell phone rang. Nathan groaned, unprepared for it. He took it from the bed and pressed the 'receive' button.

"Mama," he started and took a deep breath, "I've been waiting for your call."

-x-x-x-  
A few days later

She smiled at her sister, who's seated on the chair by her side.

"I really appreciate you visiting." Nadia said, as she sat upright and leaned on the pillows. Sydney never fails to visit her everyday.

"It's nothing, you're my sister. It's like an obligation or something." Sydney answered, looking at Nadia. There are a couple of scratches and wounds on her face and neck, a gift from the explosion.

Nadia laughed a bit, "I like the reason, 'or something' much better."

Her sister brow rose, "How are you feeling?"

"Why do you always ask that question? I'm fine." She answered, playing with the blue plastic bracelet in her left wrist, "As usual, the food is horrible."

This time, Sydney smiled, "Don't worry. You'll be coming home soon."

"How soon? The nurses are starting to scare me."

The minute she said that, a nurse came in, holding a tray and a cheerful, yet eerie smile on her face.

"Good morning, Ms. Santos. Here's your breakfast." The nurse started and placed the tray on the side table, "How are we feeling today?"

"Fine." Nadia answered automatically as the nurse began fixing the pillows she's leaning on.

"Good." She placed the tray on Nadia's lap. "I'll be back in an hour."

Sydney looked at Nadia as the nurse closed the door behind her. An amused smile appeared on her face, "Well, aren't you going to eat it?"

Nadia raised a brow, "Let me see you try it." She replied in a challenging tone.

"No, thank you." She shook her head, "But maybe another tray will come in. One filled with nutritious, but much more delicious food just like in the past five days."

Nadia just shrugged and stared at her food.

True enough; the same nurse came in, bearing another tray and she has the same smile plastered on her face. She took the tray on Nadia's lap and replaced it with the tray she was carrying. She then said goodbye and left.

"Told you so." Sydney said, looking at the bowl of assorted fruits, a plate of croissants and a tall glass of orange juice.

"You know, this reminds me of the orphanage." Nadia started, "You see, there were a lot of children there and the nuns were having a hard time providing for us. Then, an anonymous benefactor came and he was very generous to the orphanage. His generosity enabled most of us to go to college."

"A benefactor?" Sydney asked, her interest, peaking. She doesn't see the relation of the anonymous food giver and the benefactor, but still, "Have you found out his identity?"

Her sister shook her head, "I tried to, but unfortunately, all the leads I had were all dead ends. They said he died, but the money still trickles in the orphanage once in a while."

"When did this benefactor…?"

Nadia shrugged, "They said I was a good luck charm to them."

Sydney looked at her. A generous benefactor suddenly appears after Nadia ended up in the orphanage. Coincidence, or another one of their father's deeds?

-x-x-x-  
(A week later)

The back of the spoon became her mirror. Her face is riddled with scratches and scabs and they look horrible. Her hands, in contrast, seem to have no recollection of the bits and pieces of glass that lacerated it. There are no markings of the wounds anywhere.

Sofya gingerly touched her face. The cuts feel so rough under her fingers. They said that she is healing at a very rapid rate. She doesn't believe them.

_"Just eat the food, Iya."_

She snorted, ignoring the voice coming from her com link. The person talking to her doesn't know the taste of what she's eating.

"Tastes just like sawdust." She mumbled.

_"Well, just eat something. You'll need your strength."_

She began toying with the food on the plate. She understands her brother's concern. When she first woke up, she staggered out of the hospital room, hungry and looking for food. The agents guarding her were so surprised that they almost shot her with a tranquilizer.

Sofya took the spoon and scooped a small portion of the buttered vegetables. She placed it in her mouth and started to chew.

'What do they cook this with? Rubber sap?'

After a few more spoonfuls, she gave up. Her taste buds couldn't take the torture.

She sighed and took the dull red apple. She then leaned back on the pillows as her teeth sank into the fruit.

_"Apples don't keep the doctor away, you know. Unless you throw it at them."_

She rolled her eyes and continued biting into the fruit that banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.

'Stupid Adam and Eve.' She thought and then sighed at the allusion. She looked at the door and waited for someone to come in.

_"No one's going to visit you."_

"Shut up." Sofya muttered, "You're the cause of all this." She tossed the core to the tray. She was pleased to hear it clang but a core frown surfaced in her face.

_"Well, if you're wondering, they're fine. Cedric managed everything."_ He said, referring to her five roommates. _"No need to worry about them."_

"Stop it. You're just reminding me that I'm stuck here." The frown deepened. She started to shift her position in the bed. No one can gauge how much she wanted to run away from this place.

The door to the room opened and a blonde, petite nurse went in.

"Good afternoon." She greeted happily, "Oh, I see that you didn't finish your food."

Sofya gave her a pained smile. The nurse just smiled back and took the tray. She wonders how the woman can be so damn happy when she's attending to a criminal.

'Well, maybe she doesn't know that you're a criminal?'

"There's a girl just like you who hates eating the food here." The nurse winked at her, "Good thing for both of you, you have someone who sends you lunch. I think you'll enjoy this one."

A male nurse went in, holding another tray.

Suspicion snaked inside her, "Who sent it?"

"Silly girl, your father sent it."

"My father?" Confusion is palpable in her tone, but the nurse took no notice of it.

"Yes, your father. One look at you and I wouldn't have known, but now I see the resemblance. You both have prominent ears except his are bigger." The nurse smiled wider, "Now go pick up that spoon and eat."

Sofya watched her leave. When the nurse was gone, she shook her head in puzzlement.

"Did you send it?" she whispered, looking at the bowl of clear soup in front of her.

_"Do I look old enough to look like your father?" _she heard him shuffle around,_ "You know, that nurse is weird."_

"I know what you mean." She answered, "Do you think I should eat it?"

_"I think poisoning people is the most cowardly thing the CIA can do."_

"Is that a yes?"

_"Da."_

She smiled and took the spoon, "Do you think I can do it tomorrow?" she whispered and tasted the soup. A small smile appeared on her lips when the warm liquid teased her taste buds.

_"If you're up to it."_ He replied, sighing, _"Besides, our eighteenth birthday is coming up. You might be celebrating it inside a cell if we keep postponing your escape."_

"Stop the sarcasm, Nate." Sofya hissed and started to eat.

_"Fine, okay. Just make sure you're ready tomorrow."_

-x-x-x-

Jack stepped out of the elevator with Arvin Sloane a few steps behind him.

"Have you visited her?" Sloane asked as he fell into stride beside his old 'friend'. A couple of people are coming out of the elevator with them, most of them, nurses.

"Who?" Jack asked, but Sloane didn't answer. When he looked at his companion, he found him looking at the closing doors of the elevator.

"What is it?" Jack inquired when he noticed Sloane's facial expression.

Arvin shook his head, "Nothing." He answered and looked at Jack. "I asked you if you had visited your youngest daughter."

"She was always asleep." Jack gruffly replied as they walked towards Nadia's room. Sloane had volunteered that he and Jack will help her and Sydney with the vases and baskets of flowers inside Nadia's hospital room.

Sloane decided not to press on the subject and instead focused on their current work, "The double agents will be transferred to Langley after you interrogate them." He started. Dixon, instead of finding Irina Derevko in Turkey, found three of the fifteen people Mikhail Premenov (or Nathan Derevko) supposedly killed, alive and being kept as prisoners. And a lot of documents gathered in the place suggest that they are moles for Olivia Reed.

"They will be transferred soon." Jack remarked as they turned the corner.

A few minutes later, they were helping Sydney with the flowers.

'She looks a lot better.' Jack thought as he discreetly watched his second daughter. She looks a lot better than Sofya, actually.

'But then again, Nadia was poisoned, Sofya was… never mind.' He said to himself and took one of the humongous baskets of chrysanthemums from an anonymous sender. He can hear Nadia asking Sydney about Alexia/Sofya.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Using his right hand, he took it from his pocket and received the call.

"Bristow."

The call lasted for a few seconds. When he returned the phone back to his pocket, he called for Sloane.

"May I talk to you in private?"

The two sisters looked at each other. Sydney shrugged, but both know that something serious just came up.

_fifteen minutes before Jack's phone call_

"Doctor, may I ask what medicine you've been giving me? I can distinctly remember having wounds in my hands." The girl asked as she showed the doctor her palms.

The doctor smiled at her, "We didn't give you anything. You just heal very fast." She answered and checked the clipboard.

Sofya smiled at her, but wished that the doctor come closer. The agents are outside, waiting for this visit to finish, and if the doctor doesn't come near her, she might not be able to escape.

"Your stab wounds, however, opens up quite easily. It's worrying sometimes."

Sofya's eyebrows knotted in confusion. "And you're implying…?"

"Don't move a lot." The doctor simply replied. She then went towards her and checked her IV.

A small pop echoed in the room.

In one swift motion, Sofya pulled the doctor towards her before the unconscious woman fell to the floor. She then took the IV off her arm, slipped out of the bed before hoisting the doctor to where she was lying down and covered her with the blanket.

_"You heard the doctor, Iya. Take it easy."_

Sofya ignored her brother and put on the lab coat. She then went towards the bathroom to get the other tranquilizer Nathan hid in the ventilation shaft. Thankfully, the doctor's coat is a bit large for her and the sleeves covered the tranq guns easily.

She peeked out the window and found the agents patiently sitting on the chairs. Not a single soul is passing by the corridors.

_"Looping videos… now."_

Sofya slightly opened the door and quickly shot the agents. Luckily, they didn't fall down the chair they are sitting on.

_"That was good, considering that your vision isn't perfect."_

She slipped out of the room and silently closed the door. Coldness shot up through her when her bare feet came in contact with the floor. She muttered a curse under her breath, but walked as though she has shoes.

_"Your clothes are in the utility closet, two corridors to your right."_

She quickened her pace. Some nurses greeted her and Sofya just smiled back, but went on with her business.

A few seconds later, she disappeared from sight. Nobody notice her enter the service closet.

_"There's a duffel bag on top of the cabinet. Everything's in there."_

She got rid of the patient/doctor outfit and took out the clothes her brother packed for her. She checked on her wounds and bruises before dressing up into a white shirt, a blue jacket, blue jeans and her light blue cross trainers. She looked inside one of the bag's pockets and found a comb, elastic rubber bands and the container of her eyeglasses.

"You know, I think I'm going to stand out in this blue outfit." Sofya mumbled as she tied her hair into a half ponytail.

Her brother laughed, _"The only way to fit in is to stand out."_

She put on her eyeglasses before stepping out of the room. She worked her way out of the busy corridors and into the elevator.

_"Your ride is a dark blue Peugeot in the basement garage."_

One of the elevator doors opened. People streamed out and two of them were Dumbo-fly-home and the Man with the Creepy Stare. Her heart skipped a beat as she shirked away from view and lowered her head.

"Have you visited her?" she heard the Man with the creepy stare ask. She felt his eyes land at her as she hurried inside the elevator. She needs to hurry or she might get caught.

There are a few people who went in with her and most of them got off from one floor to another. She was the last one to get off the lift.

Her eyes scanned the garage. "Where is it?"

_"Away from the cameras, of course."_

"Could you please be a bit more specific?" getting a bit irritated, "Never mind, I see it. Keys?"

_"In the dashboard."_

Sofya silently walked towards the car, admiring its beauty. Her fingers skimmed the automobile when she neared it.

She opened the door and slipped in. she took the key from the dashboard and started the car.

The engine purred. Sofya smiled and backed out of the parking space.

_"Airstrip is five miles from here. There's a bag in the backseat, with a cell phone inside. If you get lost, call me."_

Sofya ignored the teasing voice. Her freedom is a few minutes away.

-x-x-x-  
(Three days later)

Jack went inside Sloane's office and slowly walked towards the desk. He then stood in front of it and waited for Sloane to look up.

"Jack." He greeted, "What can I do for you?"

He didn't answer him. Instead, he handed to him a folder.

"What's this?"

"My leave of absence. Chase approved it. I'm giving you notice."

Sloane sighed and closed the folder. He then leaned back on the chair and looked at Jack, waiting for an explanation. He has a feeling that this LoA is related to Sofya's recent and successful escape.

"I need time to think clearly." Jack started, "And I won't be able to do that with a psychiatrist."

"Doctor Barnett-"

"I'll be leaving the office later. I expect no calls from this office starting tomorrow." He interrupted and turned to leave. Sloane didn't try to stop him at all.

He walked towards Marshall's office, ignoring the agents who smiled at him or hid from him.

Jack peered inside their tech's office and found him busy building another contraption for a future mission. Without knocking, he pushed the door open and stepped in.

"Marshall."

"Mr. Bristow." He slightly stuttered, "Uh, I got what you asked for." He turned around and retrieved a PDA from his table.

"It'll show you the passive-active transmitter's location. It's going take a general turn first and then it will become more specific once you get to the last location it says."

Jack raised a brow. He didn't understand what Marshall said.

"Uh, for example the tracker said the signal's in France. So you go to France," Marshall looked at expectantly at Jack, hoping to have any affirmation that he's getting what he's saying.

"So you're there in France having croissants and everything, and then the tracker says that you have to go Marseille. So you go to Marseille and then the tracker, after a few hours says that the signals in this little town…" He shook his head, realizing that he's not getting to the point, "Anyway, what I'm saying is that, the location gets more and more specific until you find the source.

Jack took the PDA from his hands, "Will this take a very long time?"

"Not that long." Marshall answered and grinned at him.

"Thank you, Marshall." Jack said and started to leave.

"Uh, Mr. Bristow?" Marshall called out.

Jack turned his head and looked at him. He waited for the tech to continue.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this, right?"

Something appeared on the older agent's face which Marshall believes is a smile. Jack didn't answer his question and left him to wonder.

"Hmm… I guess that was a yes."  
-x-x-x-


	29. twenty eight

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT**

(Sussex, England)

"Could you please explain to me again why we're doing the groceries?" Sofya asked with an air of sarcasm as she and her twin trudged through the busy high street market. They were both carrying plastic bags crammed full of vegetables, milk and bread.

"Uh, punishment?" Nathan answered, looking at the grocery list. "We still have to buy a lot of pepper, garlic, tomatoes and basil leaves."

"Don't forget the fruits." Sofya said, changing the hands with which she was carrying the bags to ease the strain, "Why do we have to do the groceries? Why can't she ground us until the earth disintegrates or the sun dies?"

Nathan looked sharply at her. "Don't wish for something you don't want."

She sighed. "I should have pretended I was sick."

"At least you have the sun on your face."

"I could get that from the sunroom."

Brother and sister bickered as they walked towards the fruit stand. Neither of them noticed that they were being watched.

-x-x-x-

"Martin, are the children back?" Irina asked as she entered the kitchen. The man in question looked up from the pot of spaghetti sauce he was stirring and shook his head.

"No, not yet. Why?"

"It's been two hours and it's nearing dinner. They should be back by now."

Martin shrugged. "They can be a little indecisive when it comes to choosing food."

"I gave them a list. How can they be indecisive about that?" she exclaimed as she sat down on a chair. "They know that they only have to buy the things on the paper."

"That's why I told you not to give them that chore." Martin answered, turning off the stove, "They think too much about it. It's always 'Is this good enough?'"

Irina shook her head amused.

"You should have just grounded them." He remarked. "You wouldn't have any problems about them choosing between a red apple and a green one."

She watched him clean his mess. It was true that Nathan and Sofya falter when it came to a simple thing like doing the grocery shopping. That was one thing she couldn't understand about her children.

She was staring into space when her phone rang.

"Hello?" she greeted absent-mindedly after pressing the receive button.

_"Mama?"_

"Nate? Where are you?"

_"Somebody wants to talk to you."_

She heard the phone being passed. Nate was still in the market from what she could hear in the background.

_"Irina."_

She nearly dropped her phone in surprise. She should have expected this. Why didn't she think about this when she sent Nathan and Sofya out?

"What do you want?" she asked coolly. She felt Martin's eyes fall on her when her tone changed.

_"To talk. Don't worry about your children, they're fine."_

She listened to him talk. She didn't try to show her anger since it wasn't going to go anywhere with him. She needed to confront him in person.

After the call, she let out a deep breath. They were to be meeting in a public place, so everyone was expected to be on their best, if not, bearable, behavior.

"Martin, can you drive me to town?"

-x-x-x-

Jack looked at the people in front of him. They were in a café, a few meters away from the fruit stand. This was the first time he had seen Nathan and Sofya together in fourteen years and both were looking at him with an air of distaste.

Nathan glared at him, "What do you want from us, _Mr. Bristow?_"

"I think you know the answer to your question." Jack answered and sipped his water. He told the waiter that they would order when the person they were waiting for arrived.

"Talking to my mother won't do you, or us, for that matter, any good."

"Actually, _Sofya_, it will." He answered, stressing on the girl's name.

Her eyes widened. How the hell did he know her name? She looked at her brother, who didn't seem surprised at all.

'Okay, what's going on here?' she thought, confused.

Jack looked at them. The afternoon sun was clearly illuminating their faces, giving him a chance to see the features that were masked by the darkness (Nathan's) or were intentionally missed by his eyes (Sofya's). It scared him that his resemblance to them was imprinted on their faces and yet they couldn't see it.

Nathan's features were all from him though the scar and the darker shade of his skin set him apart from his father. Sofya, on the other hand, had a mixture of both her parent's features. He was relieved that the wounds on her face had disappeared. It reminded him too much of the deed he had done.

"Mama." Nathan suddenly said and stood up from the chair.

"Mom." Sofya said after Nathan and stood up too.

Their greeting was like a distress signal to her. She received their kisses on her cheek and sat on the empty chair directly in front of Jack.

"Jack." Irina addressed him composedly, "I see that you've resorted to hostage-taking to get what you want."

"It's the only way I can get you to talk..." He then looked poignantly at his children, "…about certain issues."

Their waiter approached the table once again, "May I take your orders?" he asked, holding a notepad.

"Coffee, black." Irina answered and then looked at the teenagers by her side.

"None for me." Nathan said.

"A soda and a slice of your black forest cake." Sofya answered.

"Black coffee." Jack ordered.

They waited until the waiter was out of earshot before starting to talk again. It was Sofya who started the discussion.

"There are no issues to discuss, Mr. Bristow." She began, "And I don't like you."

Jack looked at her and then to Nathan, "Do you want to add anything to that?" he asked, dryly.

"I'd rather not." His son answered in an equally dry tone, "I don't want to cause a scene."

He then looked at Irina, whose gaze he had been avoiding for the past few minutes. She was looking back at him with a mixture of interest and exasperation.

"And what do you wish to discuss with me?" Irina asked. She knew that Jack would not be able to answer her directly without compromising himself too.

Before he could answer, their orders came to the table.

Sofya dived into the cake as soon as the waiter gave her the fork. The presence of Jack Bristow didn't dull her appetite at all.

"First of all, I want to know how your lovely daughter escaped the hospital."

Sofya sipped her soda before answering, "Didn't your friend tell you?" she asked, "I mean, he did see me go inside the elevator."

Jack's eyebrows knotted in confusion, "Who saw you?"

"The man you're always with." She stabbed the cake with her fork, "The man with a creepy stare. He burned my shirt from staring until the elevator doors closed."

He quickly processed her words. Sloane saw her. He saw her and he didn't say a word. He even gladly received his leave of absence!

It then occurred to him that he was manipulated into entrapping Irina and their children. He looked around and found that a lot of people had left. Only three customers, men, scattered around the room and dressed as tourists are looking 'discreetly' their way.

"Leave, now." He said quietly to Irina and subtly taking his gun, "Irina, get them out of here, now."

It was then that she noticed the emptiness of the café with the exception of the staff and the men.

"Silenced nine millimeter, twelve o'clock, my position. A silenced forty-five and probably a knife in the two o'clock position. I can't see the other guy." Nathan reported in a low tone.

Sofya's eyes roamed the room, "Fire exit is behind the bar, being blocked by the last guy."

"Nathan, Sofya, I want you to leave." Irina looked at her children, "Now."

"We're not going to leave you here." Her daughter answered, smoothing her plate of crumbs.

In the corner of Jack's eye, he saw one of the men (in the two o'clock position), pull his gun and aim it at Sofya.

"Get down!" Jack shouted and pushed his daughter's chair to the floor.

He was just in time. The moment his hand exerted force on the chair, bullets pierced the walls. Nathan kicked the table to shield them from the gunshots.

Irina returned fire. One of the men dropped to the floor, bleeding from the forehead. Jack killed the other two as he hid Sofya from danger.

The exchange lasted for a few minutes.

And when the people in the line of fire regained their wits, they were gone.

-x-x-x-

_"We've done what you've asked, sir."_

"Good. How many men have you lost?"

_"Three, sir."_

Silence. Mckenas Cole tapped his fingers on the cell phone.

_"What do we do next?"_

"Nothing. You do nothing. Understand?"

_"Yes, sir."_

He ended the call and then started to dial again.

"Mr. Deretoskiev, I've done what you've asked."

-x-x-x-

Irina pressed the thick cloth on Jack's right upper arm to keep it from bleeding any further. They were in the kitchen of her house, unscathed from their encounter, except for Jack.

She began to clean the wound with the antiseptic. He hissed in pain, but didn't pull away.

Jack watched her as she wordlessly cleaned the flesh wound. Every dab of medicine brought a short burst of pain, but he didn't mind. He didn't know how he got this injury; most probably the bullet whizzed by him when he pushed Sofya to the floor.

A tall figure came in the kitchen, carrying the bags of groceries. Nathan didn't say anything and proceeded directly towards the countertop. Martin was in town, smoothing some things out.

"Nate, could you please get your sister?" Irina said as she started to cover Jack's wound with gauze. "There's something she needs to know."

Nathan looked at him before following his mother's request.

"I don't think this is the right time-"

Irina cut him off, "She's the only one who doesn't know. I hardly think that's fair."

"Fair?" Jack scoffed, "Did you think it was fair that I mourned for Nathan and Sofya and thought of them as dead?"

Irina frowned, "What would you answer to Nadia if she asked you what fair is?"

He didn't answer her.

"You won't be able to move your right arm that much." She said when she finished covering his wound and returned the first aid kit to one of the cabinets.

"Thank you." Jack replied, looking at her handiwork.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. Nathan and Sofya are coming.

"Mom," the young girl greeted as she warily looked at Jack. Why did he protect her? was it because of concern or was it a manipulation on his part?

Irina motioned her to sit down. It made Sofya look at her brother, who just shrugged.

When they were settled in the chairs, Irina let out a deep breath.

"Iya, this is your father."

-x-x-x-

Sydney looked at Sloane with a hint of suspicion in her eyes. She had noticed that he always seemed to be in a good mood. He was always smiling, always upbeat. It never wavered even when Sofya escaped or when her father served him his leave of absence.

It was like he was taking a very illegal happy pill.

"Nadia." Sloane's face lighted up as he gestured her to sit on the empty chair beside her sister. He waited for her to be seated comfortably before starting.

"I called you in here because I have something very important to tell both of you. Especially to you, Nadia."

The moment Sydney heard those words she knew where this conversation was going to lead. There was a part of her that wanted to stop him. He was not the right person to reveal this to her sister. But she knew that even her father was not qualified to tell this certain truth to Nadia.

She looked at her sister and then back to Sloane.

"Nadia-" he paused and looked at Sydney. He was clearly uncomfortable. Her only response was a raised brow.

He sighed and clasped his hands together.

"Nadia, I am not your father."


	30. twenty nine

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE**

_"Nadia, I am not your father."_

She blinked, unsure of what she had just heard.

"Excuse me?"

Sloane sighed and stood up from his chair. He then walked towards Nadia and kneeled by her side, "Jack wanted to tell you, but-"

"Jack's my father?" she looked at him with so much confusion, "Did you know it before I was invited to join APO?" Sloane nodded his head. Nadia couldn't help but look at her sister. She expected that Sydney would be surprised with the revelation but she was shocked to see that the expression on her sister's face was that of an unfazed woman.

"Did you know?"

Hurt and betrayal surged through her when her sister gave her a yes, "Why didn't you tell me? And why isn't Jack...?" she exclaimed, and looked at Sloane again, "Why did you have to lie to my face!"

Sloane immediately took her hand, "It was for your protection. Please understand." Tears were now brimming in his eyes, "I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive us for our deceiving you."

Nadia bit her lip and lowered her head. How could she have believed that she could foster a relationship based on trust with these people when they can't even tell her the truth? Especially her real father, who was ignoring her all the time. It seemed that her decision to stay in the country to be nearer to her sister and father was a big mistake.

"I don't know if I can." She whispered and then stood up. Crying, she turned on her heel and left.

-x-x-x-

_"Iya, this is your father."_

Sofya stared at her before looking at Nathan and then at Jack. There was a flash of shock in her eyes before it was masked with indifference. She kept quiet for a few minutes, thinking of something sensible to say.

"You really know how to drop bombshells, don't you?" Sofya remarked as she stared calmly at her mother, "Did you tell me this today because you thought that his valiant act of pushing me away from harm would stop me from wanting to kill him?" her mother didn't know what Jack Bristow had done to her and she had no intention of telling anyone, but the words just flowed out of her mouth.

She pushed her chair backwards and stood up. She wasn't planning on arguing with her mother tonight. She was tired and this revelation was making her head hurt.

Sofya was halfway out of the kitchen when Irina called her name.

"Iya..."

The moment she heard her mother's voice, her temper rose. She couldn't help but feel angry and betrayed. The man made her suffer just so he could get to Irina and now he's sitting comfortably in their kitchen, looking at her as if nothing happened.

"Are you trying to provoke me?" Sofya asked, irritated, "And is my reaction not enough? Do you want me to get a knife out of the cupboard and wave it around?"

"Sofya," Irina stood up and approached her daughter; "I didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry."

"The damage has been done, mom." Her voice cracked and the back of her eyes started to burn. And as she didn't wish for her father to see her tears, she turned around and started to leave.

She couldn't believe it. She was running away from her mother, one of the few people she would gladly butt heads with.

"Sweetie..." Irina took Sofya's wrist. The girl stiffened and tried to pull away.

"Don't touch me."

Irina looked at her daughter's face. Sofya didn't want to tell them what happened when she was in CIA custody. She didn't press on the issue, knowing that it would lead to Sofya being more stubborn about her silence.

She didn't let go of her wrist, "Sofya, what is it?" the reason behind Sofya's distress was much deeper than her 'I-don't-want-him-as-my-father' explanation.

"Of all people, why him?" she asked in a small voice, "Why does it have to be him?" tears trickled down her face and she hastily brushed them away.

"Did he know I was his daughter when I was with them?"

The way Sofya asked the question started alarm bells ringing in Irina's head, "What did he do?" her tone had changed. It sounded dangerous.

Sofya's lips slightly quivered. When she first started school, she was jealous of the other students because they had fathers who would fetch them from school and meet with their teachers. She was asked about their father, she told them that he was a wonderful man who loved her and her brother.

She had apparently forgotten to tell them that he was also a ruthless bastard.

"Sofya."

She looked at her mother, but tears blurred her eyesight.

"He headed my interrogation." Lowering her head, she continued, "He ordered that I shouldn't be fed until I give up Nate. He told me horrible, made up stories about you and called you names, and when he couldn't get the information out of me willingly, he gave me truth serum so that I would reveal your location." Anger started to pulsate through her body and her breathing started to quicken.

Irina was reeling from shock. 'Jack did what?' she then pulled Sofya towards her and embraced her.

Her daughter started to cry. The revelation brought back the memories and deep confusion. She doesn't know how to deal with this disclosure.

"Its okay, sweetheart." Irina whispered and rubbed Sofya's back soothingly. "It's okay.

She could feel Sofya's tears falling on her shoulder. She immediately regretted telling her the truth. She should have waited for a few days until she was ready. Sofya was going to go through so much misery and it was all her fault.

Sofya's sobbing subsided and she settled down after a few minutes. She stayed in her mother's embrace, grateful for the comfort it brought.

"You don't have to like him." Irina said, "You're not obligated to feel anything about him. Just please be civil for a few days, okay?"

Her daughter nodded her head and gently pulled away from her. Irina affectionately brushed away the tears that streaked her daughter's face and kissed her on the top of her forehead.

"Get ready for dinner." She said, showing her a soft smile.

Sofya nodded her head again and turned away to go to her room.

Irina waited for her to disappear from the corridor before stalking off towards the kitchen. When she went in, she found Jack standing by the French doors that lead towards the patio. He and Nathan were having a staring match.

He looked at her when she slowly walked towards him. Rage was throbbing in her veins. He tortured a teenager and not just any teenager. He tortured his own daughter.

"Did you know she was yours when you ordered that she not be given food?" the undercurrent of her tone was ominous. Nathan, though shocked at this knowledge, quickly left the room. He didn't want to be in the middle of their argument.

"I had my suspicions."

The moment the words came out of his mouth, her palm connected with his cheek.

The sting reverberated in his head. Slowly, he looked at her again. He understood her anger, but he wasn't the only one at fault here.

"I might have decided differently if I knew they were alive." Jack remarked, calmly.

She gave him a steely glare, "In case you didn't know, they were the only people looking for me when everyone else thought I was dead."

"I looked for you." Jack answered, "And that's not a reason for them to do what they did."

"That was the only way they could have found me." Irina replied, "They were the only ones who didn't believe Katya. You, on the other hand, stopped when you let yourself be manipulated by my sister."

Jack shoulders sagged a bit. What she was saying was true and he admitted that (though not verbally, of course).

"I... I'm sorry."

A small lump formed in her throat, "I don't really care about what you say or feel about me now. But what you inflict on my children is something I'm extremely concerned about."

The latter was true, however the former was not. In her six months of captivity, all she thought about was him and their children.

"They're my children, too." Jack replied, his eyes, sharpening.

"You don't treat them like they are." She retorted in referral to the way he treated Nadia, Nathan and Sofya.

Before he could answer back, Martin entered the kitchen, silently humming to himself. It seemed that he didn't hear them arguing loudly while walking down the corridor.

"Oh." He remarked when he saw them, "What are you two doing here? Are you hungry for dinner already?" He asked cheerfully. It was as if he was talking to the twins rather than their parents.

Irina glared at Jack before looking at Martin, "Nate and Iya are."

Martin shrugged, "Good, I thought they had lost their appetite." He then walked towards the refrigerator and took out the pot of spaghetti sauce he had made before Irina asked that she be driven to town.

"I placed his things in the bedroom next to Iya's. Maria's making the bed ready now."

Jack looked at Irina, "Why are my things here?"

"You're going to stay here, Jack." Irina answered, "As a prisoner."

He gaped at her, "Excuse me?"

"I had the feeling that you'd track down Sofya. Knowing how… creative you are with transmitters, I asked Nathan to disable the security measure for transmissions for a few days." She answered and then left Jack in a state of shock.

Martin chuckled. He knew that Jack Bristow was a man not easily fooled, but could be quite irrational when it came to personal issues.

"You're lucky she's making you stay here." Martin commented as he set the pot on the stove to reheat it, "Mr. Sark's also on the property and he was treated like a prisoner for his first few days."

Jack turned to him, "Sark's here?"

Martin didn't answer him and just smiled.

-x-x-x-

Arvin Sloane walked towards his front door, slightly weary from the day's work. He knew that it wasn't his place to tell Nadia the truth, but he felt that it was taking Jack too long to tell her. But then again, he did warn his friend that he would reveal the truth to her if he didn't.

He scanned his surroundings. The CIA agents/bodyguards that were tailing him disappeared from sight.

Sighing, he opened the door and went in. Ever since he became head of APO, agents had been tasked to follow him and keep tabs on him. After all, he was still a prisoner of the US government—a prisoner with certain freedoms.

He placed his coat in the hall closet before locking the front door and going to his study. Jack had been on leave for almost a week and things in APO seemed to be in slight disarray without him. He had a feeling that after this disclosure, Sydney and Nadia would also take a leave of absence to look for their father.

Suddenly, the room began to expand right before his eyes. Bewildered, he looked around. The room was spinning and spinning.

'What is happening to me?' he thought, as his eyes closed and he slumped forward, nearing unconsciousness. He almost fell to the floor, but a pair of strong arms caught him before he hit his head.

_"Have you told her the truth?"_

"How did she react? Will they run after Jack?"

"Has he contacted anyone in APO?"

Darkness.

A murmur caressed his ear.

_"Arvin, wake up."_

He jolted awake and immediately saw his late wife's photograph on the table. Did Emily just whisper in his ear?

Groggily, he looked around. He was sitting on his leather chair in his study. Did he fall asleep while working again?

He stretched his aching back. This was the third time he woke up in his study and the third time he woke up not remembering what he did before he came to the study. Had he eaten? He couldn't remember.

Unconsciously, he rubbed his neck. It felt like it was punctured with a thousand needles.

Arvin silently walked out, without the knowledge that aside from the CIA, another group is watching him.

And apparently, they can persuade him to tell things that he can't even repeat to himself.


	31. thirty

**A/N- **A little warning for the use of language :)

**CHAPTER THIRTY**

_Hot, searing pain flashed through her body and burned her soul. Her screams pierced her torturers ears for she is unable to tolerate the agony. She's been through so much desolation; how can she bear living at all?_

"Where is it, Irina? Where is the Decoder?"

She couldn't form the words. She's looking for a way to stop Rambaldi's prophecies from coming true, and without the Decoder (or whatever they are calling it right now), they will not be able to make things go their way.

Besides, hell is just around the corner. Why not give it to her already?

"We know how to inflict pain Irina. And we're not afraid to use this knowledge on you."

Tears ran down her cheeks. The chains are rubbing excruciatingly in her raw and bleeding skin, while a hot metal rod is pressed on her back.

"I don't know," She whispered.

She then closed her eyes, knowing that her hell is coming.

"Oops, sorry Martin. May I have my ball back, please?"

Martin smiled at the teenage girl before taking the soccer ball, which rolled through the open French doors and into the kitchen, and tossing it towards Sofya.

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome." He answered and then went towards the counter to make coffee. A quick glance at his watch told him that Irina will be coming down for breakfast in a few minutes.

He has been with this family for almost thirteen years and he must admit that his life changed radically when he met Irina Derevko. The twenty-four year old Martin Seraphim was a thief and a brawler with no discretion at all. He tried to burglarize her house in Spain, alone and unarmed. It was a very foolish act and he was caught by her men, but only after he put up a fight.

Irina must have seen potential in him since she didn't call the police (or had him killed since he almost endangered the twins), but instead offered him a job. He started out as Irina's bodyguard and driver. Working for Irina was hard work and it honed every skill that he had to its maximum level, but everything he had done were meted with comfort and happiness—something that he had never experienced in his childhood.

Breaking into Irina Derevko's house was one of the best decisions he has ever made.

"That coffee smells nice."

Martin looked towards his left and found Irina standing next to him.

"Hey, good morning." He greeted, "You look like you didn't sleep well last night."

"Since when did I sleep these past few weeks?" Irina resignedly answered. She still isn't able to sleep peacefully and meditating isn't helping her that much. She feels so tired.

Martin shook his head, "Go and take a seat. I'll fix your breakfast."

Irina walked towards the table and sat on one of the chairs. She then looked out the garden through the open French doors (which is directly towards her right) and watched her daughter play with her puppy and her soccer ball.

"Has Iya and Nate eaten?" she asked, glancing at Martin.

"Yes, your children ate at exactly eight AM and didn't speak to each other the whole time. Nate is watering the flowers in the front garden."

Irina sighed. The tension between the twins was palpable ever since dinner last night. Sofya found out that Nathan knew that Jack was their father and that he didn't tell her on purpose. She has a feeling that this 'fight' will last for a few days at most.

"Will Jack Bristow be joining you for breakfast?"

She shrugged, "Maybe," quietly, she watched her youngest daughter frolic in the grass and chase her golden retriever. It was then Irina noticed that Sofya is hovering dangerously near the swimming pool.

"Iya, can your dog swim?" Irina called out. Her daughter looked at her.

"Frasier is very talented." She answered, but snatched her puppy and her ball from the poolside. She then started walking towards her mother, but suddenly stopped and then frowned. Sofya turned around and resumed playing with her pet.

"I was half-expecting that she'd throw that ball in my direction." Jack dryly remarked. Irina looked towards the direction of the voice and found him standing by the edge of the table, looking at her.

"Don't stop expecting it." Irina replied as Martin placed their breakfast on the table. The delicious smell of the bacon began to waft in their noses.

"Thank you, Martin." She said when he placed the coffee pot on the table and handed her, her mug.

"No problem." Martin wiped his hands on the small towel and then proceeded to go out of the kitchen through the French doors. He wants to give Irina and Bristow some privacy.

Irina didn't invite him to sit down or have breakfast. Instead, she ignored him and began to butter her toast before taking a bite on her bacon. Jack decided to join her anyway and sat directly in front of Irina.

"I heard that Sark is in the vicinity."

Irina took a sip of her coffee before nibbling on her buttered toast, "You'll see him soon."

He raised a brow and then proceeded to help himself with the food in front of him. He doesn't really eat breakfast ever since… Jack shook his head, and tried not to dwell on the past again. He then looked around the table, "Where do you put your mugs?"

She looked at him and without saying a word, motioned at the cupboard behind her.

Jack glanced at her amusedly. He's the 'prisoner' and yet, the only bad thing about it is that his questions are all left unanswered. What does Irina expect to achieve by giving him the silent treatment? It's not going to deter him from asking his questions over and over again.

Shaking his head, he stood up to get a mug.

Suddenly, something hit his arm so hard that it made Jack hit the table. The coffee pot moved, but thankfully didn't pour any of its scalding contents in Irina's hand.

Irina glanced towards her daughter. Sofya gave her an innocent look before staring blankly at Jack.

"May I have my ball back?" The teenager said as the naive expression on her face became that of displeasure. She seems to be implying that it's his fault that he was hit by the ball.

Jack took Sofya's toy, which rolled under the table and then threw it back to her.

"Its amazing how mothers and daughters communicate without saying words." Irina said when he sat down in front of her.

"I'm going to assume that if Sofya shoots me point blank, you wouldn't bat any eyelash." He dryly replied and took the pot of coffee.

She lifted the mug to her lips, "Nate and Iya are not allowed to use guns inside the house."

"So that they won't kill each other?"

"Exactly." Irina took the fork and stabbed one of the bacons, "Their tempers are frightening."

"So now, killing is a skill?"

"I believe self-defense is."

Jack leaned on the chair and coolly gazed at her, "If you thought that Nathan and Sofya's lives were in danger for you to teach them self-defense, why didn't you separate yourself from them?"

She looked at him directly in the eye, "I gave a promise that I'll take care of my children and do everything I my power to protect them. I was keeping my promise to you."

If Jack had any reaction to what she said, he didn't show it. Irina, feeling that she has revealed too much, decided to finish her breakfast. His presence is too much for her and she doesn't know why she keeps on torturing herself by making him stay in the house.

He stared at her, taken aback with what she said. A promise—yes, they did give each other that promise. She managed to keep it. And he threw it all away when he thought everything was gone.

They ate in silence. Both are thinking about the past, the present and the future. They are thinking about their family and their relationship.

What are they going to do now?

"Wait, I see mama in the kitchen." Nathan's voice boomed from the outside, but Jack couldn't see him. Seconds later, his son emerged holding a green pail in his right hand, dressed in a gray sweatshirt, matching shorts and slippers. In his left hand is a cell phone and he's talking animatedly to the person in the other line.

"Yeah, okay. Here she is." Nathan handed his phone to his mother, "Its Danilov." He said, before taking the roll of newspaper, which he squeezed into his pocket, and placed into on the table.

The moment he did that, his sister's soccer ball hit the pail of water he's holding and spilled its contents on the floor.

"sh-t." Nathan muttered, looking at his wet feet. He stole a glance at his twin and found that she's smirking at him. Obviously, she's still upset with what he did.

Sighing inwardly, he ventured inside the kitchen and took the mop from behind the steel refrigerator. He'll get his revenge later, but first he must clean up his mess.

Nathan began wipe the wet floor, ignoring the man sitting in front of his mother.

'How could he not angry with what his sister did?' Jack thought in disbelief. Their mother didn't seem to notice what happened.

A few minutes later, Sofya approached their position to get her ball. When she stooped to get her possession, Nathan hit her hard in her left shoulder with the mop handle.

It must have hurt since she reacted by slamming the heel of her hand in her brother's face. He was taken aback with her action that he took a step back and dropped the mop.

"Fuck you." Nathan hissed, his eyes watering from pain.

"Fuck you too, asshole."

Her brother angrily raised his hand, as if threatening that he will hit her.

"Hit me and I'll hit you back harder." Sofya replied, giving him a defiant and angry stare. She's the only one who gets to the physical level of anger she and her brother fights— Nathan has controlled himself from hitting people when he's angry.

It took every inch of Jack's self control not to interfere. How did Irina raise his children? They're acting like convicted felons fighting over territory.

Irina glanced at the twins, "Nathan, Sofya, if you're going to kill each other, do it outside. Please. I'm on the phone." She glared at her children and then turned her attention back to the cell phone.

Sofya glowered at her brother before stepping out of the kitchen.

"I'm not finished with you, Iya!" Nathan said, irritated. His sister is now a few feet away from him, standing by the swimming pool.

"Just shut up, Nathan." She answered, crossing her arms in front of her.

"You shut up!"

"No. You shut up!"

Jack could only gape as his son tackled his twin sister before falling in the pool. Sofya's shriek was the last thing he heard before the splash. He has never encountered such sibling squabble go out of hand.

"Yes, yes. Okay. See you." Irina ended the call and then placed the phone on the table. She looked at the chaos behind her, before finishing the last piece of bacon in her plate.

"You've created monsters." Jack said accusingly.

"Actually, I've been living with monsters for the past fifteen years." Irina answered and then added good-naturedly, "They were little monsters to start with."

"You're condoning their actions?"

"MOMMY!"

Irina glanced outside, "You mean that? They've done worse." She stood up and took her plate to the sink, "When they're finished drowning each other, please tell them that even if their grandparents will be arriving later, that doesn't mean that they can abandon their chores."

"Grandparents?" Jack replied, this time confused. "Nikolai and Svetlana are coming?"

"Who else?" Irina answered and started to go out of the room. But before she left, she stopped and said,

"You really have good timing. My parents have always wanted to meet you."

Vaughn approached Weiss desk, his eyes, looking at Nadia's direction. He had noticed the tension between Sydney and Nadia, and he wants to know why. He couldn't find Sydney anywhere and Nadia has been avoiding almost everyone in the office.

"Hey, Weiss."

His friend looked up at him, "Yeah?"

Vaughn took the seat on the empty table near Weiss' and sat on it, "What's wrong between Nadia and Syd?"

"You mean, you don't know?" Weiss asked, surprised. He then lowered his voice, "Syd didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

Weiss set down his pen, "I can't tell it to you, dude. It's a family thing."

"Is Nadia okay?" Vaughn asked, looking at her direction again. She's furiously typing in the computer and the expression on her face speaks of stubbornness and pride.

"I don't think so. But she said not to press on the issue, so, I'm going to respect her wishes and stay away from the topic as far away as possible."

"That bad, huh?"

Weiss nodded his head. Nadia was crying when she went to him, distressed about the truth and the lies. He must admit that he was a quite shocked when he learned that Jack is really her father and that Sloane also knew about it. It dawned to him that the way Jack and Sloane treated her was all a charade.

"Okay, I need to go." Vaughn said and then left in a hurry.

A few minutes later, Weiss saw Sydney approach Nadia's desk.

"Nadia,"

Her sister ignored her and continued doing her work.

"Nadia, Chase approved our leave of absence."

That stopped her from typing. Nadia looked at Sydney and pursed her lips, "Is that suppose to make me feel better?"

"I also asked Marshall to track dad down."

"Syd, he doesn't care. Why should I care?" Nadia asked in a tone that is both exasperated and irritated.

"You should. He's with mom."


	32. Flashback, 1494

**NOT CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE**

_May, 1494_

_The woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works..._

He looked at the image he drew on the paper. The woman in his visions—the Chosen One as he calls her, possesses the power to give him eternal life. She will obtain his works and will hand him his immortality.

He lovingly gazed at her image, memorizing every little detail of her face. The ink would dry and would soon disappear. The only time that he will see her again is when he lives again. He could never see her in his dreams as his dreams were plagued with the visions of the future.

The ink started to fade before it disappeared in front of his eyes. He felt sadness surge in his heart. He had fallen in love with his vision.

The candles flickered. He looked at the fireplace first before the taking the quill and writing again. This page was to become the forty-seventh in his journal and would be one of the most important pages that she would have to retrieve.

…_bind them with fury; a burning anger. Unless prevented, at vulgar cost, this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation. This woman, without pretense, will have had her effect, never having seen the beauty of my sky, behind Mount Subasio. Perhaps a single glance would have quelled her fire_

-x-x-x-

The archdeacon was looking at him again. He tried ignoring him and followed the Pope into the summer home he had designed. A small smile formed across his face. The house was one of his most marvelous creations to date. A simple and yet grandiose rest house for Pope Alexander VI.

He heard him chuckle.

"You've outdone yourself, Milo." He said, "I love it."

He smiled at the praise. He had truly outdone himself.

The archdeacon's stare was burning a hole in the back of his head. What had he done now to receive this glare? He didn't share his visions to anyone after the tongue lashing he received from Claudio Vespertini. He was accused of being a heretic, and it was a good thing that he was on fine terms with the Pope.

There were more praises from the most powerful man in the Catholic world. "Let's go into the garden." He spoke softly, and went out to the terrace.

Archdeacon Vespertini looked over at him before following his Excellency out. Milo sighed and looked around.

'But, this is not my best work…'

Slowly, he walked out of the room and followed his 'master'. The terrace overlooked a spectacular garden filled with colorful flowers. It was truly a stunning sight.

He watched the Pope and the Archdeacon admire God's creation. He then quietly slipped away from them, knowing that he wasn't needed in the Pope's musing. He wanted to see the people in the surrounding village.

A soft breeze blew when he stepped out. He then started to walk and observe his surroundings. The children's laughter resonated in his ears. Dogs and cats chased one another and the smell of horse manure lingered in the air. Everything reminded him so much of his childhood.

The people paid their respect as he passed by them. Everyone knew who he was.

He greeted the villagers, but he stood in shock when, in the corner of his eye, he saw her—the woman in his visions.

He looked at her and felt blinded by her beauty.

She had an ethereal presence and a smile so beautiful that his heart fell down to his feet. The loneliness he felt when he saw her face fade in the parchment dissipated and he felt his love for her bloom again.

'Who are you?' he thought as he walked towards her.

She was mending clothes and seemed to be perfectly contented with what she was doing.

"Signorina?" he said, plastering a wide smile on his face.

She looked up, a bit confused. When she realized who he was she hurriedly stood up and bowed reverently.

"Signor Rambaldi," she greeted, "What a pleasant surprise."

He smiled at her, "What is your name? I haven't seen you around here before."

A small smile touched her lips, "I stay inside the house most of the time. My husband is a soldier in your command, Signore."

_Husband?_ He could feel his heart ripping into two. _The woman in his vision loves another? That's impossible_! Jealousy surged through him, but he didn't show it.

"Serena." A deep male voice called out.

Her face lighted up and radiated with extreme happiness, "Gian!"

Milo stepped aside as 'Serena' went towards 'Gian' and welcomed him with open arms. Apparently, they married for love and not to make their financial lives a little better. He wondered if 'Serena's father approved of their marriage.

"Signor Rambaldi." Gian said, and they walked towards him, their hands linked. "His Excellency has been looking for you."

"Is that so, Gian?" he replied. The soldier, Gian Carbo, was a handsome young man with a beautiful profile. He exuded virility and strength. Could that be why she fell for the man?

"Si, Signore." Gian answered, "He asked me to look for you."

"Oh," was all he could muster. He could feel his heartbeat racing as he looked at Serena and Gian's interlocked fingers. Though he knew that he didn't know a single thing about her, except for the fact that she had the same face as the woman in his visions, he still felt deathly jealous of Gian. He had the love of the woman of his dreams (literally).

'I want her to be mine. And mine alone!' he thought fiercely and clenched his fist. His obsession with the woman from the future was overriding his common sense.

"Signor Rambaldi, are you alright?"

Gian's voice penetrated his mind and brought him back. He blinked, a bit disoriented.

"Are you alright, signore?" he repeated, this time, taking a step towards him.

"Yes, yes I am." He answered. The couple in front of him had concerned looks across their faces. So he forced a smile as an attempt to wave away their concern, "I better get going."

Gian nodded his head, "I'll be escorting you-"

"That wouldn't be necessary. Thank you, Gian." He said and turned to leave.

The soldier stayed with his wife, knowing that Milo Rambaldi has a reputation of getting what he wants, but it only ranks second to his fiery temper. Gian Carbo definitely didn't want to be in Milo Rambaldi's bad side.

Too bad, because he was definitely too late to think about that.

-x-x-x-

(A few months later)

His fingers stroked the edge of his leather-covered diary. He had been keeping tabs on Serena and Gian throughout the last few months. He couldn't help it. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to know how he could make her love him. He wanted to know how he could steal her away from Gian. He was far more deserving than that common soldier.

But now, she was pregnant with the common soldier's child.

He curled his fist. His obsession with these two people was interfering with his visions. The visions of the future were not pretty and he feared that he would be brought back to a chaotic world. He didn't want to live with moronic and violent people. He had had enough of it here.

A sigh escaped his lips. What should he do? He wanted to change the world through his predictions but they were not giving him any comfort that what he was doing was going to make any difference.

Dilemmas began to plague him, so he took his journal and opened it. He stroked the pages. This was his best work. These words were his best work.

He took out four of the ninety four pages and spread them across the table. He lovingly gazed at the papers and wondered how his words would come to life.

The Chosen One. The Passenger. The Key. The Valiant.

Milo trembled with excitement. These prophecies were his wisdom, and God's gift to him. Immortal life would be within his reach, and it would not be exclusive to God alone.

There was a knock on his door.

"Come in." he commanded, after putting every manuscript in his journal away from view.

A tall soldier entered. Milo could feel the soldier's uncertainty together with his confidence.

"Ah, Gian. Come closer." He said and motioned the soldier to stand in front of his table.

"You called for me, signore?" Gian asked.

Milo observed the young man. Wavy black hair framed his face and brown eyes peered straight at him. His nose was fit for an aristocrat and his stance, that of royalty. He knew that the soldier possessed the ability to strike fear into the hearts of others through his piercing stare. And he was giving him that stare now.

"I heard your wife is pregnant." Milo started, giving him an equally steely stare, "When will she give birth?"

"In Spring, signore." Gian answered. Milo Rambaldi has been checking on his family and it bothered him greatly. He had heard of the architect's madness and experiments when not designing for the Pope, and frankly speaking, it was worrying. Why was he taking so much interest in them?

Milo suddenly produced a basket of apples from under his table.

"Take these—for your wife." It wasn't an invitation. It was an order.

Gian hesitantly took the basket. The Pope's architect was like the serpent, who seduced Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. What was he to gain with this 'kindness'?

"I hope that your child be born healthy." He then said, dismissing the soldier. Gian bowed and hurriedly left.

He watched Gian leave. A small smile formed across his face when the door closed.

The apples had grown under his care and under his formula. After the child was born and gained a mind of its own, it would follow him everywhere. In a sense, Gian and Serena Carbo would be his own.

The child would think like him and probably have some of his memories. He didn't know the extent of power his formula had, but he was sure that there would be an imprint of his persona in the young Carbo.

With that thought, a genuine smile etched itself in his face.

-x-x-x-

The church bells were ringing. He had asked that they be rung for the death of the wife of their soldier.

Serena had given her life for her newborn, a daughter.

Secretly, he was happy with her death. If he couldn't have her, then no one could. 'I don't have her, but neither does Gian." He thought looking out the window. Beautiful spring had arrived, a symbol of new life.

'New life indeed.'

Milo sat on his chair and looked at the clock.

He was waiting for his visions.

_Laughter filled the room. He saw a man sitting on a carpeted floor between a young girl of about seven and a black haired baby. The three of them were playing with colorful, modern, toys. _

He was seeing the future again.

"No, don't eat that sweetie." The man said laughingly as he tried to stop the child from putting the toy in her mouth. The older girl was also laughing.

'What is Gian doing in the future?' he thought, shocked. Will he see me as I receive eternal life?

"_Mommy!"_

_Her mother appeared, smiling at her daughters and at the man with them._

"_I heard you laughing. I couldn't resist being away from the fun and games." She said and sat down next to Gian._

"_Daddy's trying to pry the Lego out of baby's mouth."_

'Serena and Gian are still together, even in the future! But she's mine!' his thoughts screamed. How could he be with her if this man always interfered?

Suddenly, he began to convulse as the visions changed. Three women, all with the resemblance to his Serena, lay bleeding in front of him. Only one seems to be alive.

_The world was ravaged by fire. Two women were now dead by his feet while the other one was struggling to sit up. Her belly is swollen._

_A young man staggered next to her, weak and deathly pale._

"_I'm sorry… I wasn't strong enough to stop him." He whispered before falling to the ground and taking his last breath._

_Milo looked around and found Gian crawling towards Serena's body. They were further away from the younger ones, but the scene caught his eye. _

_Gian was crying over his wife's lifeless body. But it wasn't Serena's name he was calling._

"_Irina."_

-x-x-x-

It had only been a few hours since the Pope was buried, but already he was being hunted down by the Archdeacon's followers as heretics were not welcome in Italy.

He had to admit that he did turn mad in the past few months. He wanted to finish his work and he had tried to trigger his visions with one of his formulas.

It made his raging temper visible and made him see visions day and night. It pushed him to create machines (or order someone to do it for him) and drawings which the Archdeacon viewed as too radical.

They called him the Devil's incarnate.

He, on the other hand, believed that he was saving himself and his followers from eternal damnation through immortality. But it was no use. They would kill him, now that Pope Alexander was dead.

He took his journal and began tearing the pages detailing the decoding of his work and the details of his reincarnation. He crumpled them into a ball and threw them to the fireplace.

'The Passenger has my words and The Key can easily read them. The Valiant will ensure their safety and The Chosen One will bring me forth to this world again.' He thought as he gave himself a reason to why he was doing this.

Footsteps reverberated in the hallway. They were coming to get him.

He burned his other writings. What was left of his journals would be saved by those who believed in him, but he couldn't let his prophecies about the Key and The Valiant leak out. They were crucial to his rebirth and might be hunted down.

There was a knock on the door.

"Signor Rambaldi, open this door."

"Yes, please give me a few minutes."

"Now, signore."

He hid his journal in one of the secret panels in his floor and hurried to open the door.

"Archdeacon Vespertini wishes to see you."

He peered at the armed soldiers in front of him. He then decided to cooperate and stepped out of his quarters.

-x-x-x-

A few days later, Milo Giacomo Rambaldi was sent to death.

Claudio Vespertini tried to erase him for history, citing that a bad weed was not helpful to the future.

Alas, such bad weed can never be forgotten with mere erasing.


	33. thirty one

**CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE**

"So, you are Jack Bristow."

The old and yet distinguished man who had cornered him in the living room was looking at him suspiciously. He was assessing him by his gait, stare and stance. He also spoke to Jack in Russian, testing him. Jack Bristow had encountered a lot of men who had tried to make him wither with their gaze -all those men failed. This man in front of him… well, this was a different case.

The old man, with his hazel eyes and wavy, steel gray hair, looked nothing like Irina except for his stubborn chin. He could sense, however, that this is where she got the cool and intimidating demeanor she sometimes displayed.

"Yes, I am Jack Bristow."

Nikolai Derevko observed him. This was Irina's subject, the man she loves (or is it loved?) and the father of her four children.

'Why did my daughter like him? What did she see in this man that she hasn't seen in any other?'

The questions he first asked when Irina was extracted in 1981 surfaced again. The man who caused both extreme happiness and extreme pain to his daughter was now standing in front of him. What should he do?

"I see Mik and Alexa's faces in yours, especially Mik's." He said in his native language and at the same time using the names they used when the twins were being kept in Russia.

"Well, that wouldn't really be much of an issue since I'm their father." Jack responded in the same language. Nikolai was still looking at him and he could feel the man's animosity.

"Yes, yes." Irina's father peered through his eyeglasses, "I heard what you did to your _children_."

Jack didn't say anything. He didn't know how this man thought or how he reacted to things. He wouldn't know how to move around his intellectual baits if he decided to hastily challenge him.

"Nikolai, what are you doing?" a female voice asked. Both men looked towards the direction of the voice and found a stunning, seventy-something woman who really didn't look her age since her gray hair was styled in a pixie cut and the vivaciousness that she emanated made her look years younger.

"This is Irina's Jack Bristow." Nikolai said as his wife stood beside him.

Upon hearing this, the woman looked at him interestingly.

"Oh," she remarked and then offered her hand, "I'm Svetlana, Irina's mother." She said in English and smiled at him.

The hair at the back of Jack's neck stood up as he shook her hand. The smile reminded him so much of Nadia.

"It's nice to meet you." He answered, a bit uncertainly.

Svetlana pulled her husband towards one of the sofas, "Have you met Danilov? He's a few years older than your Sydney." She asked and sat down, "Sit down, Jack." For someone who lived in Russia for almost all her life, it was really a wonder how she could speak perfect English.

"No, I haven't met Danilov," Jack answered as he sat on the cushion in front of them.

Nikolai and Svetlana looked at each other discreetly. Who was to be the bad cop and the good cop in this 'examination?

"Have you talked to your children?" Nikolai asked, this time in English, "And I mean the twins, not Nadia and Sydney."

Jack didn't give any reaction to what he had been asked. "In a sense, yes." The days he interrogated Sofya and the conversation he had with Nathan when he tried to kill him were pushed to the front of his mind.

"What about Irina?" Svetlana asked.

He looked at her, and nodded his head; "It wasn't as extensive as I would have hoped, but…" he trailed off when he saw the couple in front of him look at each other again.

"What have you talked about?" Nikolai asked.

Jack raised a brow. He couldn't believe it. He was being interrogated.

"Grandpapa? Grandmamma?"

"In the living room, Iya." Svetlana called, and then looked back towards Jack, "You don't have to answer that question. Nikolai was just being rude."

Jack smiled slightly as his daughter entered the living room. The moment she saw her grandparents, she skipped towards them with a welcoming smile spread right across her face.

"Privyet, Grandmamma, Grandpapa." She happily greeted them and kissed them on their cheeks. Sofya had changed from her ratty clothes to a white blouse and blue jeans. She had also dyed her hair back to its original color since it was now brown and not black.

"You look well grandmamma." She spoke in Russian as she sat down in between Nikolai and Svetlana. "Where's Dan?" Sofya's smile froze when she saw Jack but she kept it on her face for the sake of her grandparents.

"Thank you, darling. You look well too. Dan is in the garage, with Julian and your brother." Svetlana answered, "Your cousin has a new car."

"He has a new car?" Sofya inquired. Jack saw her ears perking up—literally.

Nikolai nodded his head, "A silver mini cooper."

"Oooh, I want to see it." She exclaimed and started to stand up. In truth, she wanted to get out of the living room, lest her grandparents would open up the topic about Jack Bristow. She was getting up to her feet when her grandmother took her wrist and gently pulled her down.

"Leave the boys for a while." Svetlana said. "So, what have you been doing?"

An amused smile fluttered across the teenager's face, "Aside from the terrorizing the world?"

"Yes, aside from terrorizing the world," Nikolai answered.

"Well, I've been reading… uh, playing the computer too… and doing household chores."

Nikolai scoffed, "Your mother is making you do housework?"

"Yup. Its punishment for terrorizing the world."

Nikolai laughed heartily, "Are you sure it's not because you tackled your brother and fell into the pool?"

"Grandpapa, it was Nate who tackled me." Sofya corrected. "He hit me with a mop handle and it hurt so I slammed my hand into his nose."

"He hit you with the mop handle because you kicked your soccer ball at him." Jack interjected sardonically. His daughter looked at him and raised a brow, irritated at his intrusion.

"Like mother, like daughter." Her grandfather kissed the top of her head and placed his left arm around her shoulder. "Let me tell you a secret: your mother and your aunts were a handful bunch too. They turned out well, I suppose."

Svetlana chuckled and seconds later, she and her husband started laughing. Their granddaughter rolled her eyes and sighed. They were once again sharing a private joke.

"Oh, wait. Speaking of aunts, Aunt Lena and Uncle Benjamin plus the cousins will be coming tomorrow, around lunchtime or something."

Jack gazed at his daughter, who was talking animatedly in Russian to Nikolai. He had missed so much of the best years of his children's life. He had missed his children's smiles and laughter.

"Uh, grandmamma, I really want to see Dan's new car, if I may?" she asked. She was getting uncomfortable with Jack's laser-like stare.

Her grandmother smiled at her, "Of course, child." She brushed away the runaway tendril covering her granddaughter's face before adding, "Oh, your grandpapa and I brought you some chocolates. They're in the kitchen."

Upon hearing those magical words, Sofya's face lighted up like a 1000 watt light bulb.

"Really?" a big smile, an expression that Jack has never seen before, blossomed in her face.

Svetlana took a quick glance at Jack. He was staring at his daughter with a hint of amazement in his eyes.

"Don't let your brother see it." Nikolai reminded.

Sofya laughed as she stood up, "He can eat it if he wants to go the hospital." She scoffed. Nathan was allergic to the sweets. Once, when they were eight, he had tried to eat them but too much milk chocolate led him to land in the hospital for three days.

"Thank you." She said sweetly and then rushed out of the living room.

Nikolai shook his head and leaned back on the relaxing sofa. He then stared coolly at the man in front of him.

"And until when do you plan to stay here?" He asked.

Jack shrugged, "Until my leave of absence ends, I suppose."

Svetlana smiled once again, "Well, that's good. You can have more time to get to know the twins." She stretched her legs and then stood up, "I have to go check on the three boys."

Her husband also stood up, "I'll go with you." They then left, with only Svetlana saying goodbye.

Jack sighed when the two of them disappeared from view.

Dinnertime was going to be such a hassle.

-x-x-x-

Inane script + horrible actors one pathetic in-flight movie.

Nadia bit back a sigh. This was one of the reasons why she hated flying. She looked at the person beside her and found Sydney asleep. She frowned. There's no one she can talk to.

Resignedly, she took the remote control/telephone and began to choose something else to watch.

'No…no…no…no… hmm, maybe.' She thought and decided to watch the romantic-drama she had just stumbled upon.

An hour and ten thousand tissue papers later, the movie ended. Nadia took the headphones off her ears and sighed.

'Crappy ending, if you ask me.'

"I'm going to guess that it wasn't a feel-good movie."

Nadia looked at her sister. Sydney was smiling at her.

"Yeah, it wasn't." she answered and stretched her legs slightly. She gave her sister a small smile before asking, "Are we there yet?"

Sydney laughed. "Excited already?" She then looked at her watch and said, "About four more hours, I guess."

"Thanks." Nadia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Yes, she was excited but fear was the most dominant feeling. If her father was with her mother, how would they react when they saw her? How would her mother react? Would she welcome her with arms wide open?

"It's going to be okay." Her sister whispered reassuringly.

She opened her eyes and glanced at Sydney, "But J- he's there."

"Don't worry; Mom's going to be on your side."

Nadia looked uncertainly at her, but didn't say anything. She then nodded her head and tried to calm her excited nerves.

'I do hope you're right, Syd.'

-x-x-x-

"I would really hate to be in your position right now." Benjamin Petersen said as he sat beside Jack. They arrived a few hours ago from Cardiff, and had joined everyone for lunch. Jack, who was facing the garden, merely gave him a glance and then gave his attention back to the scenery outside. Sofya's puppy was running and jumping around. It was quite entertaining, that he must admit.

"Nikolai and Svetlana, master interrogators, are here for one week. They'll pepper you with questions and they'll probably know more about the issue than you do after they're done. Nate and Iya are very good with psychological warfare and you'll probably get nowhere with them. Martin, on the other hand—"

"Could you just tell me the point of this conversation?" the slight irritation was not lost in Jack's tone.

Benjamin stood up and went towards the refrigerator. He opened the steel door and stuck his head inside.

"Want some Snapple?" he asked. When Jack shook his head, he closed the door and went back to his seat.

"The point of this conversation is that everyone in this house is a little bit south of sanity. They'll grill you."

Jack looked at him, "And I suppose you're speaking from experience?" he asked wryly. Time had aged Benjamin's face, but he looked more relaxed and youthful than before. It seemed that being an Algebra teacher helped him a lot.

His friend raised the bottle of to his lips, "Yeah, from experience.

They sat in silence, both lost in their own worlds. Jack was staring at the greenery in front of him, while his friend was staring blankly at him.

Or so he thought.

"Why did you do it? You knew she was yours the moment she reacted to your questions."

Jack glanced at him. The former Marine now had adopted a serious expression in his face, something that he rarely showed to anyone.

"Let's just say, rationality took over gut feeling."

Benjamin shook his head, "Have a better answer when Iya asks you."

Suddenly, Jack's cell phone rang. He took it from his pocket and looked at the caller ID.

"Irina let you have your phone?"

Ignoring his friend, Jack took the call.

"Bristow."

A few minutes later, the call ended. He sighed as he placed his phone back in his pocket.

"New guests?" Benjamin asked since he had heard part of the conversation.

Jack stood up from the chair, "Where's Irina?"

"In the library with Elena."

Without saying goodbye, Jack turned around and left the kitchen.

Sydney and Nadia were coming.


	34. thirty two

**CHAPTER THIRTY TWO**

The coffee shop had a warm and inviting ambiance and yet, Nadia couldn't shake off the feeling that the holes she had been staring at for the past five minutes were made by bullets.

She stood up from her chair and quietly walked towards the wall. She raised her hand and touched the hollow areas.

'These are definitely made by bullets.' She thought. What the hell happened here?

She looked around. No one had seemed to notice her. The couple sitting a few tables near her was still staring lovingly at each other and the man who was reading his newspaper still hadn't touched his coffee. Smiling to herself, Nadia went back to her seat and waited for Sydney to finish her call to their father.

'This must be the biggest mistake I've ever made. I shouldn't have let Syd drag me into this-"

"Dad says to stay here for a while. Somebody will fetch us." Sydney sat down next to her, "What's wrong?" she asked when she saw her sister's face.

"Nothing." Nadia quickly answered, "Who's going to fetch us?"

Sydney shrugged, "He's going to call again." She looked at her sister directly in the eye, are you sure nothing's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Syd. I'm just excited… I think." Nadia replied, "I mean J-dad is going to be with our mom and probably our twin siblings—this is going to be a disaster." She rambled on.

"Did you know that when you're very uncertain of something, your accent gets heavier?" Sydney remarked.

"Syd, I'm serious here." Nadia hissed.

"Nadia, stop worrying. It's not like we're going to meet mom's entire family."

Her sister stared at her, "If this turns out to be one horrible meeting, I will never forgive you for keeping up with Arvin Sloane and Jack Bristow's charade." She said in a low voice.

"Well, at least you're assured that you won't have a bullet in your shoulder after you meet with mom." Sydney retorted.

Nadia opened her mouth and then closed it again. Suddenly, Sydney's cell phone rang.

"Hello? Yes… thirty minutes? Okay…"

Sydney looked at her sister as she placed the phone in her bag, "Martin Seraphim in thirty minutes." She then looked at her watch, "We still have time. Are you hungry?" Without waiting for Nadia's answer, Sydney signaled one of the waiters to their table.

"How may I help you ma'am?" The man's accent was so heavy that they almost didn't understand him.

Sydney briefly glanced at the menu before looking at the waiter, "Uh, could you give me a slice of your blueberry cheese cake and a glass of orange juice." She turned to Nadia, "What about you?"

"Coffee cake and water." She said. As the waiter wrote their orders, Nadia decided to ask about the walls.

"Excuse me, but how did those holes happen?"

The waiter looked at her and then to the wall. All of a sudden, he became visibly uncomfortable. "Uh, shootout. Three dead."

"Did they catch the shooters?" Sydney asked.

"Actually, ma'am, those three dead people were the first ones to shoot." He answered. Waving the paper around, he asked, "Is this all you want?"

"Yes. Thank you." Nadia replied and smiled. The waiter smiled back and then left.

The service was quick and their food was served to them in a few minutes. The sisters ate in silence. Excitement was stirring in their veins. They were going to see their mother again.

Butterflies began in flutter in Nadia's stomach, and mixed themselves with the cake. How would this meeting turn out? How would their mother (and their father) react to her? How would she react to them?

Minutes passed. Their cakes dwindled into crumbs and their drinks to droplets. Nadia sighed and looked at her watch.

"Everything's going to be okay, right?"

Sydney looked at her and then nodded reassuringly, "Yeah, everything will be okay."

"Sydney Bristow?" a deep voice asked. Sydney and Nadia looked at the person who had called Sydney's name and found an attractive, tall, sandy haired man with hazel eyes and a fairly built body.

"Martin Seraphim?"

The man's brows knotted in confusion, "Uh, no. Danilov Ulanstalinova. Martin's outside."

The sisters looked at each other. Sydney then whipped out her cell phone and called her father. Nadia, on the other hand, observed the man standing by their table. He was smiling at her.

"You're Nadia?" he asked. Nadia nodded. She knew that she hadn't seen this man before, but she had a feeling that they had met prior to this.

Sydney gave the phone to him, "He wants to talk to you."

He took the gadget, "Yeah, it's me. I went with Martin." Seconds later, he handed Sydney her phone and amusedly asked, "So, shall we go?"

"We'll pay the bill first." Sydney said and stood up.

"No, I'll pay." Danilov replied and went to the counter. A few minutes later, he went back to them and took their duffel bags, "Shall we?"

He led them out of the café and into a black sedan. The trunk popped open as he motioned them to get in the car.

"Martin's already inside." He said and placed their bags in the trunk.

Nadia opened the door and slipped in. Sydney followed suit. When Sydney closed the door, the driver turned to face them.

"Hi, I'm Martin." He looked at Sydney, "You must be Irina's eldest, Sydney?"

"Yes, I am." Sydney answered and smiled.

Martin smiled back and looked at Nadia, "And you're Nadia?"

Nadia meekly nodded her head. At the same time, the door to the passenger's side opened and Danilov got in.

"They look so much like Irina, don't they?" Martin asked as he started the car.

"They sure do," Danilov answered and strapped his seatbelt, "You two okay back there?"

"Yes." Sydney answered.

As they pulled away from the curb, Danilov leaned back on his seat and looked at Nadia and Sydney, "Grandmother and Grandfather are so excited to see you."

"Grandmother?" Nadia choked and looked frantically at Sydney. Panic was apparent in her face.

Danilov raised a brow, "You sort of came just in time for the annual family reunion slash birthday celebration of Nate, Iya, Roan and Hanna. Grandmother and Grandfather normally stay for one week."

Nadia's heart started to beat a little bit faster._ Family reunion… dear god, what had Sydney gotten us into?_

"Are we related to you?" Sydney asked.

He laughed when he heard the question, "It seems that your father didn't tell you. I'm your cousin, Elena's eldest son. My dad died when I was still a baby." He turned to Nadia, "You don't remember it, but you stayed with the grandparents a few months after you were born."

Glancing at Sydney, he said, "I only saw you in pictures, but looking at you now, I must say that you are a spitting image of Aunt Irina."

Sydney weakly smiled. The words she said to her sister earlier reverberated in her head.

_"Nadia, stop worrying. It's not like we're going to meet mom's entire family."_

She mentally slapped herself in the head. If this turned out to be one mess of a meeting, Nadia would kill her.

Sensing their nervousness, Danilov said, "They won't bite, I promise."

It was Nadia's turn to smile weakly at him.

"Trust me; you're going to have fun."

Sydney and Nadia glanced at each other, with only the same thought running through their minds.

'I do hope you're right.'

-x-x-x-

"They just left. Should I follow them?"

_"No. Stick to the plan and come back here."_

The man ended his call and folded the newspaper he was reading. He then walked towards the counter and paid for his coffee.

-x-x-x-

'Wow' was the only word that left their lips the moment they stepped into the marvelous entrance hall. Mahogany and marble merged seamlessly and exuded simplicity, elegance and grace.

"I'll be taking your things upstairs." Danilov said as he passed by them, "Aunt Irina, we're here!" he yelled loudly and walked towards the stairs.

Nadia's heart was beating out of her ribcage.

'Oh no… what am I going to do?' she thought, frantic.

A woman in a flowing white blouse and black slacks stood by the doorway. Her brown hair framed her face and she was looking in their direction.

"Nadia?"

Tears blurred her eyes when she heard her mother's voice. Nadia couldn't say anything and felt that she was rooted to where she was standing. She could only nod her head.

Irina rushed towards her daughter. She couldn't explain the feelings swirling inside her, but all she knew was that the child she had been searching for, a decade after she had started the search; was standing in the hallway with her sister.

"Oh my god." She spoke in a soft voice as she cupped her long lost child's face. This young woman was her daughter.

The tears fell down Nadia's cheek, "Hi." Her voice sounded squeaky to her, but she didn't care.

Irina couldn't help but smile and embrace her as tightly as she could, "I thought I'd never see you again." She whispered; her voice breaking.

She had dreamed about this since she was a little girl. Her mother's embrace was very different from the one in her dreams and she liked the real one better. It spoke so much of warmth and safety.

Their embrace seemed to last an eternity. Irina looked at Nadia and smiled as she tenderly brushed her fingers across Nadia's cheek and kissed her on the forehead.

"You look so lovely. And so much like your sister." she looked at Sydney and smiled at her.

"Hi, Mom." Sydney gave her a dimpled smile.

Nadia gently pulled away so that her mother could give her sister a welcoming hug.

"I'm so sorry." Sydney whispered to Irina, "I really thought you were-"

"It's not your fault, sweetie." Irina answered, "It was never your fault."

A few minutes later, when everything was settled between them, Irina looked at Sydney and then to Nadia, "Have you been taking care of your sister?" she asked her eldest daughter.

The sisters looked at each other before laughing. It was such sweet music to Irina's ears.

Nadia grinned at her, "Well, Syd tries. I think she was doing a good job."

"A good job? You always get into trouble." Sydney answered.

Her sister looked at her, "No, I don't." she replied, almost in mock surprise. She looked at their mother, "Don't believe her."

Irina couldn't help but laugh, as Nathan and Sofya also played the 'yes-she-did-no-I-didn't' game.

She then stood in between her daughters as she wrapped one arm around Nadia and the other arm around Sydney, "I would be disappointed if you both didn't know how to get into trouble."

Nadia laughed and Sydney giggled, which made Irina smile even wider.

"So, do you want to meet your grandparents?"

Both Sydney and Nadia flashed a forced smile.

'No, we don't?'

"Uh, we're a little nervous." Nadia said.

Their mother just laughed and began to lead them towards the living room. When they went in, Sydney saw Nathan first, and then Sofya before their grandparents. It seemed that Nathan noticed them because he suddenly began whispering something to his twin. The action prompted the two senior citizens to look towards the direction of the doorway.

"Is this Sydney? And Nadia? Svetlana asked as she and her husband stood up. Finally, after how many years, they are finally able to see their eldest granddaughter.

"You look so much like your mother."

"Oh, Nadia…"

Nathan watched the reunion unfold in front of them. Their mother looks so happy and so proud that they can't help but feel both happy for their mother and slightly jealous at the two women with her.

"I told you she's our sister." Nathan whispered to his sister.

"I didn't say she wasn't." She answered in the same tone. She looked at the two women. Nadia was the one who 'saved' her from those men in the bus. She is also The Passenger whom Rambaldi identified as The Passenger. Sofya then looked at Sydney, aka Agent Overbite. Sydney was one of the persistent interrogators back when she was in CIA custody. While Sofya admired her tenacity, she didn't like the intrusion.

She sighed. Sisters are so… boring. Why can't she have brothers instead?

"I believe you've met Nathan and Sofya?" Nikolai asked and motioned to where the twins are seated. Both Sydney and Nadia looked at where their grandfather is looking.

Their siblings are coolly staring at them, but the expression on Nathan's face is that of slight amusement while a sprinkle of boredom occupies Sofya's.

Sydney felt uneasiness wash over her. The fraternal twins have the intensity of their father's stare and it felt so comfortable.

Nathan looked at his sister, "_Care do to do the honors?_" he asked in Spanish, one of the languages they know that his grandparents don't. They told them not to threaten or use psych warfare on their sisters, but they can't help it.

They've researched that Nadia and Sydney both know and understand Spanish and they want to make something clear to their sisters. Their grandparents might see it as an 'intimidation' of some sort, and if they can't say it in English, then its better to tell it in a language where the four of them (or five, if you count their mother) can understand each other.

Nadia looked at Nathan and then to Sofya before looking at Sydney.

'Okay, what are these two up to?"

Sofya took a deep breath before standing up.

"Our mother went through a lot of pain and suffering for reasons that even we," she motioned towards her brother, "don't know. But let me make this clear to both of you: if, by any way, you lead the CIA to this gathering, **or** you hurt mom in any way, we will make sure that you will regret coming here. Is that understood?"

Nadia was a bit taken aback with the straight forwardness. She looked at Irina, who obviously understood what Sofya said as she is glaring at her.

Sydney cleared her throat, "Yes, we understand."

"Bueno," Sofya flashed a smile and offered a hand, "Welcome to the crazy family. You can call me Iya." She shook her sisters' hands before leaving.

Nathan, on the other hand, pulled himself up and grinned at his mother, "You can call me Nate." He said, before following his sister out.

Svetlana looked utterly confused. The twins were smiling, but Irina looked really irritated. Sydney and Nadia were surprised.

"What did that child say?" Svetlana asked, looking at her husband.

Nadia smiled at her grandmother.

"Oh, nothing. Iya just welcomed us."

-x-x-x-

"Do that again, Nate. It's funny." Hanna said to her cousin as the dessert began to be placed in front of them.

"Do what? This?" Nathan asked and began to wiggle his ears.

A giggle was elicited from his young cousin. "You're like Iya's puppy."

Yuan laughed, "Yeah, Nate. You look so much like Frasier."

Sydney couldn't help but look towards the end of the table, where Julian Sark (apparently a distant relative), her twin siblings and her younger cousins were sitting. She and Nadia were seated in between their grandparents and their father, which was so uncomfortable.

"Sydney, could you please pass the milk?" Her grandmother asked as she mixed the sugar in her coffee.

Sydney smiled and gave the small container to Svetlana.

Nadia, on the other hand, was looking at Jack discreetly. She had ignored him when they had seen each other because she had feared that he would not do anything if she greeted him.

'How did you intend to greet him, anyway?' a thought asked, 'By punching him in the face?'

"Irina, I do believe you lack one room for one of your daughters?" Svetlana started, and then looked at her.

"Yes, we might put one of our guests," Irina looked at Jack, "In the guest house with Julian."

Svetlana shook her head, "I have a better idea. Why not let Jack sleep in your room?"

The 'adults only' side of the table suddenly became very quiet. Irina looked incredulously at her mother and then to her father before looking at Jack.

"Pardon me, mama?"

"Irisha, come on. Jack told us that you haven't conversed that long about your… issues. Why not do it in the privacy of the master's bedroom?"

Irina took a deep breath, "We could talk in the library. It's much more private than the bedroom."

"Irina, when we were talking to Sydney and Nadia, we were interrupted five times by Iya, Hanna, Roan, Yuan and Nate, who were playing hide and seek." Elena said.

"I can stay in the guest house." Jack said, uncomfortable with the idea of staying with Irina in one room during the night. They had not resolved anything, what if something homicide-related happen?

"Nonsense, Jack." Svetlana replied. As if on cue, Martin appeared by her side, "Martin is it possible to transfer Mr. Bristow's things into Irina's room?"

Martin hesitantly looked at Irina, who seemed to be throwing daggers at both her mother and at Jack.

"If Irina will not kill me after you've gone, then yes."

"Don't worry, Martin. I have your back covered."

As Martin left, Svetlana looked at her daughter with a challenging look in her eyes. Uncomfortable silence lingered at their side of the table.

"Grandmamma, Iya didn't want to give chocolates to us." Roan said as he came over to their table. The boy with light brown hair looked at his grandparents, hoping that they could persuade his chocolate-selfish cousin, "Didn't you say that sharing is nice?"

"I'm not nice Roan." Sofya said, loudly.

Nikolai stood up, "Want to wrestle with Iya for that bag of chocolate?"

Roan grinned, "You bet, Grandpapa."

Svetlana sighed as Nikolai and his grandson went towards Sofya (who scrambled out of her seat). "By the time your grandfather gets to your sister, those chocolates will be gone." She said to Nadia and Sydney.

"And he'll give her another bag." Benjamin added.

Sydney and Nadia both smiled, and Elena, Svetlana and Benjamin began to talk about other things.

Irina kept quiet; silently thinking about the situation her mother had forced her into. The woman was a force of nature. She definitely had something up her sleeve, and whatever that was, wasn't going to happen.

She looked at Jack who was staring at her.

'This is going to be one long week.'


	35. thirty three

**CHAPTER THIRTY****－****THREE**

Irina knocked on the open door before entering the room. Nadia is in the room next to Nathan's while Sydney is staying in the room where Jack used to occupy. Her daughter is fixing her things in the closet.

"Are you okay with the room?"

Nadia looked at her and smiled. She looked around and answered, "Yeah, its great." The room is like a hotel suite, actually. The furnishings are tasteful and simple.

She walked towards her mother and took a deep breath, "Thank you. For everything."

Irina raised a brow, "I failed to find you. Why are you thanking me for that?"

"Because you tried. And even if you failed, you didn't lie to me about it."

"Nadia—"

"Mama, please." Nadia interrupted, "Its… it's complicated."

Irina sighed and touched her daughter's cheek, "If this is about your father, I think you should talk to him." What an advice from a person who seems to be avoiding Jack and all his questions. True, she wants to wring her hands around his neck whenever she sees him but part of her doesn't want to, because it won't lead to anything.

"What if he doesn't want to listen?" Nadia asked. Uncertainty can be seen in her eyes.

"You beat it into him," Irina suggested, "Sweetie, he'll listen to you if you make him listen."

"But he's as stubborn as a donkey."

Her comment elicited a laugh from her mother.

"He'll listen to you." Irina said reassuringly and hugged her.

She doesn't know whether she's convincing Nadia or herself.

ーｘ－ｘ－ｘ－  
(The following day)

Danilov stepped inside the kitchen and headed straight towards the refrigerator. Looking inside, he found several chocolate bars Sofya left scattered inside. He grabbed two chocolates and a bottle of water before closing the door and walking towards the dining table.

A grunting sound from outside caught his attention. He looked towards the direction of the sound and saw Nathan and Sofya choking each other over a soccer ball.

'I can't believe they're turning eighteen tomorrow.' Hr thought as he shook his head and began to eat the chocolate bar. They always seem to be killing each other. This was one of the reasons why he's grateful that he grew up without siblings. His father, Mikhail Ulanstalinova, died suddenly when he was only a year old. His mother, twenty at that time, didn't waste any time by feeling self-pity and instead focused her attention and energy on her only son.

Nathan and Sofya seem to be the epitome of the Derevko temper.

'Thank god my brothers and sister doesn't have the temper too.' He thought.

"OW! Stop it Nate… OW! Stop it or I'LL KICK YOU IN THE FACE!"

Danilov glanced at his cousins and felt relieved that his mother rarely went through that with him. She was, and still is, a strong woman. She was even stronger when his grandparents are by her side. She was happy… in a sense. But he hasn't seen her like this, thought. A little haggard from his super energetic half-siblings, but he didn't that the kind of happiness that radiates in her face when she's with Benjamin Petersen.

He looked at his watch and realized that he's been sitting on the chair for almost fifteen minutes. Looking out the French doors, he saw that his cousins are now playing soccer 'peacefully'. He stood up from the chair and decided to join them.

ーｘ－ｘ－ｘ－  
(meanwhile, in the library)

"We need to talk."

Jack looked up from the newspaper and found Nadia standing in front of him. Calmly, he set down the paper and gave her a stare that made her stomach flip in nervousness

"Sit down." He said, a bit gruffly. After Nadia took the seat in front of him, he asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

His tone is deceptively serene, but underneath the cool exterior, his frayed nerves are tingling with hesitation. What if she doesn't believe him? She perceived his lies as the truth. What if she sees his truth as a lie?

"What do you think I want to talk about?" she answered.

"You want to know why we lied to you." When Nadia only stared at him stoically, he sighed, "It was for your protection. When I hid you in Argentina, the Rambaldi followers, the KGB… they were all after you."

Nadia glared at him and tried to think of something to say without being rude. How could she have taken everything he said at face value? The man could practically lie about anything under the sun!

"Am I supposed to believe that?"

_Yes_. Jack bit back his tongue. "It's the truth." He calmly responded.

"Leaving me in an orphanage was for my own good! You left me there alone with a swiped memory. I don't think that was helpful to me or good for my well-being." She furiously answered,

"I told myself that my father is going to come for me; that my father will take me away from that place. It didn't occur to me that it was my father who left me there."

His face fell. He would have actually preferred that she physically hurt him than verbally. It was easier to bear than the words that can pierce your very soul.

"It's a bitter pill to swallow, Nadia. And it was one of the hardest decisions that I had to make, but you're still alive and that's what's important."

"Well, unfortunately, this living and breathing person in front of you lacks the love of her parents."

Jack clenched his jaw. She has a point. Putting her in that orphanage was very irrational, but it kept her alive. That was the goal, wasn't it? To protect her.

"I—" he looked at her uncertainly. He deeply wants to tell her how much he regrets his decision. No amount of penance can erase the loneliness and pain that he gave her.

_How can you say those words without sounding like a heartless ass?_

ーｘ－ｘ－ｘ－

Sofya pulled her brother's shirt, "I am going to kick your bum. Stop being so unscrupulous, you crooked crook."

She held on to Nathan's shirt as she tried to steal the ball. Her brother is suppressing his laughter, knowing fully well that she will not be able to get it from him.

"Go Iya." Danilov cheered. He's reclined on the grass, watching his cousins out-dribble one another. He joined them a while ago, but quit when Sofya and Nate started to play dirty.

A few minutes later, Sydney sat beside him. She wistfully watched her siblings before asking, "Are they always like that?"

He took a drink from the water bottle, "More or less. With the way they're acting now, it's hard to believe they're turning eighteen tomorrow."

"Oh." Sydney remarked and looked at Nathan and Sofya again, "They seem pretty close." 

Danilov smiled, "They've been together through thick and thin. Do you know how they got those scars in their faces?"

She shook her head.

"They had it since they were eight. I don't really know the whole story, but Martin said that someone tried to take them away when they were little kids." He looked at her, "When I asked them about it, they said that they don't know how they got it."

Sydney became curious. Her siblings don't know how they got the scar and yet Martin knows. Did her mother erase their memories?

"Obviously, you can't play soccer with what you're wearing." He suddenly said, Sydney looked at her feet. She's wearing sandals, "And I don't want to play because I'm getting too old…"

"How old are you, anyway?"? Sydney asked.

"I'm turning thirty-six this August." He answered and then turned to Nathan and Sofya, "Hey, kids. I brought a nice new video game with me. Do you want to give it a try?"

That caught their attention. They abruptly stopped pushing each other and stared at him.

"What kind of game?" Nathan asked.

"FIFA Soccer 2006."

Nathan and Sofya looked at each other. "Sure." They simultaneously answered and walked towards them.

"Do you want to come?" Sofya asked to Sydney. She's clearly trying to reach out to her, "And where's Nadia?"

"She's talking to dad." Sydney replied as she and Danilov stood up. The twins looked at each other and then shrugged.

"Come on now. I want to see that cover of that game."

ーｘ－ｘ－ｘ－

Jack took a deep breath.

"My… poor choices as a father led you to this life and I am sorry for that. I am sorry that you felt like the loneliest person in the orphanage. I am sorry that I took everything from you with a snap of a finger and I am sorry that you felt that you were unwanted because that was never the case. It was never supposed to be this way."

He tried to mask his emotions and felt like failed in doing so.

A heartless, insincere bastard would have pulled that off without a speck of feelings in his face or voice. A man without an inch of remorse in him would have said everything in a smooth and polished manner. A man who always thinks he's right would have defended himself in the most self-righteous way.

And yet, Jack, the man Nadia thought of as all of that, wasn't able to hide his emotions behind his cool, sophisticated and aloof exterior he always puts up.

"You were the anonymous and yet so generous benefactor to the orphanage, weren't you?" Nadia said after a few minutes. A tear trickled down her eyes.

Jack was surprised, "What made you say that?"

"I just guessed."

Her father didn't say anything. This man has so much pride that he couldn't even say that _'Yes, I was the secret benefactor to your orphanage.'_

They stared at each other. Jack didn't ask for forgiveness, and yet…

He let out a deep breath. He feels emotionally and physically drained. First of all, sleeping in the same room and on the same bed as Irina's was tiring. He wasn't able to sleep well because she was tossing and turning all night, as if to spite him. Second, Nathan and Sofya were excessively polite this breakfast that it made him think about what they are planning. Lastly, it was hard to keep your feelings in check when talking to the daughter he had 'abandoned'.

"Is it too late to start all over again?" mentally, he slapped himself in the head. She's going to refuse it outright!

Nadia felt taken aback. She actually expected him to leave after all of this, but not this question. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. Sloane had paternal affection, but sometimes, it felt so standoffish. Now she knows why. He knew that it was a lie.

This will be different.

Nadia nodded her head, "But could you try to limit the lies?"

Jack blinked at her response. Try? Limit?

It took him a few seconds before he came up with a response, "I'll try."

They stared at each other again.

"You're tired." Nadia remarked. There was a slight raise of a brow from Jack and she continued, "They've been giving you hard time."

"Well, I haven't met your grandparents until now. Naturally, they'll have a lot of questions."

"Yeah, I noticed." She replied.

When Jack raised a brow again, Nadia flashed him a shy smile.

ーｘ－ｘ－ｘ－  
(meanwhile, in the garden)

"Irina, whether you like it or not, he is still father of your children."

"Mama, that's not it."

Svetlana looked at her daughter, "Then what is it? Your children were deprived of a father and I understand that it was for everyone's protection, but why are you viewing him as a threat?"

"Mama, you know what he did to Iya, Nadia and Sydney!" Irina exclaimed as she stood up from the chair. She crossed her arms in front of her and glared at her father, who is seated beside her mother. He is not helping her out in this conversation at all.

"We are not condoning his actions, Irina, but the man was in denial. He didn't even recognize Benjamin for crying out loud! And all he did was dye his hair, put on contact lenses and grow a beard." Svetlana answered, "That man can do anything except kill his own children."

_Yeah right_. Irina sighed, "What about the children killing their father?"

"Nadia and Sydney will never do that, but your twins will take their cue from you." Nikolai answered, speaking for the first time, "They are not going to view him as a threat if you stop acting troubled about every time he is in the vicinity. I believe it's your duty to let them see that even if you hate this man, there is nothing to worry about him."

She raised a brow. I don't hate him… what gave papa that idea? The expression on her face turned pensive and she started to walk a few steps away from her parents.

Svetlana looked at Nikolai and silently asked that he leave them so that she can to Irina alone. He glanced at his daughter before wordlessly departing.

'They are right, but still…'

"Jack lied when he said you have talked, hadn't he?"

Irina didn't say anything, which led to Svetlana shaking her head and walking towards her daughter's position.

"You want answers and he wants answers. I don't think either of you will be satisfied with what you want if you keep on avoiding each other."

"Is that why you insisted that he stay in my room?" she sounds like she's whining, but she doesn't care. What was her mother thinking, anyway!

Her mother placed her hands on her shoulder, "Stop being stubborn, Irina. Just for once, stop being as stubborn as your father and me." She gently turned her around so that they are facing each other, "You won't be able to know anything about what he did if you keep on avoiding him."

Irina's face fell. "He hurt me, mama. Katya… and everything else… it's just too much." Did she just hear a defeated tone in her voice?

Svetlana peered into her daughter's eyes, which are so much like her own, and caressed Irina's hair. She can feel her daughter's anguish.

"Katya has her reasons. But Jack… you hurt him too. That how love is— you'll still hurt each other even if you don't intend it."

"But he doesn't love me anymore." Irina barely said the words but the tears fell from her eyes.

Her mother kissed her forehead and tightly embraced her.

'That's what you think, Irina.'

She can feel her daughter's pain and yet she will not say anything. Sometimes, its better that they learn things by themselves.

ーｘ－ｘ－ｘ－  
(That night)

Jack entered Irina's room, which looks better furnished (but a lot simpler) than the Presidential suite of the most expensive hotel in Britain, and crossed the dimly lit ante room. When he stepped in the main bedroom, he heard water running inside the bathroom. Irina must still be inside.

He looked at his watch. Its 10.30 PM. He, Benjamin and Nikolai stayed in the library and had a bottle or two of Scotch. It wasn't as if he was a willing participant, but then again, he had nowhere else to go. Nathan and Sofya were still excessively polite to him, to the point that it was almost like a farce, but they avoided his stare.

Sighing, he sat on his side of the bed—one of their arrangement for a peaceful co-existence. His youngest children are taunting him, but not Sydney and Nadia. In fact, Sofya asked Nadia if she was the one who hit her with the car. Even the way she asked it was different. Her tone was light and self-deprecating. On the other hand, the warmth that she shows on her relatives suddenly disappears when it comes to him.

"I see that you're finished talking to my father and Benjamin."

Jack looked towards the direction of Irina's voice and found her emerging from the bathroom wearing a loose white t-shirt and blue shorts.

"They were nice enough to provide me answers to my questions about the twins' childhood." He stood up since it's his turn to use the bathroom.

She approached her side of the bed and began readying it for sleeping. The two pills she popped in her mouth a few minutes earlier are working their magic as she's feeling drowsier by the second.

"The people who could best answer those questions will be the twins themselves." She climbed up the bed and set her head on the fluffy pillow, "Good night."

Jack headed to the bathroom to change into his sleepwear and brush his teeth. Last night, Irina kept him awake with her constant tossing, turning and mumbling. It was irritating and disturbing, but when he tried to talk to her, she just waved him off and told him to go back to sleep.

He changed his clothes and after a few minutes, stepped out of the bathroom. There is only one source of light in the room and that is the lamp by his side of the bed. Irina seems to be asleep.

Jack couldn't help but sigh again.

Why can't he just stay in the guest room, anyway?


	36. thirty four

**CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR**

_She was back in her cell, chained to the wall and hurting everywhere. Why was she back there again? Was this another dream? Looking around, she realized that her pain was all too real._

Irina curled up in her little corner and squeezed her eyes shut.

'This is just a dream. When I wake up, I'll be back home again.' She thought and opened her eyes, expecting to be back in her bed.

She was still there.

A small sound escaped her lips. Sometimes, she felt like she didn't know what was real and what was not. The dreams that she had where she was back with her family were so vivid that she actually she thought she was really back home.

The door opened and a man entered the room. He walked over to her position and stood in front of her. Irina looked at him and discovered that he was one of the men that had dragged her out of her corner during interrogation.

"What do you want?" she asked. Her voice sounded so weak.

He grinned almost manically in response.

"Boris told me to have fun." As he said that, the sound of his pants being unzipped echoed in her cell.

Soft whimpering stirred Jack from his sleep. He looked at the clock by his side and found that it was nearing midnight. He looked towards his left and found Irina's sleeping figure curled tightly in the fetal position by the edge of the bed. Her back was facing him and she was the one making the whimpering sound.

Jack turned on the lamp, "Irina?" he said, drowsily, and he gently touched her shoulder. The simple action made her stiffen.

"Raping me won't give you any answers." She muttered.

Suddenly, he didn't feel sleepy any more. He went closer to her and turned on her lamp, "Irina, wake up." He said a little louder as he tapped her shoulder.

His actions didn't do anything and only heightened her sobbing, so Jack started to shake her awake.

"Irina, it's just a dream."

Out of nowhere, her fist suddenly shot up and hit his wounded arm. Jack grunted in pain, but it didn't deter him from rousing her from her sleep.

A few minutes later, she abruptly sat up and looked at him as if nothing happened. Her eyes were wide, though, and she looked pallid.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked, "You were having a nightmare."

She stared at him awhile before nodding her head. However, it was clear to Jack that she was much disoriented since she seemed to be mystified as to why he was on the same bed as she was.

"Stay here." He said and slipped off the bed. He went to the bathroom and got her a glass of water. When he stepped into the room again, he noticed that Irina was looking around.

"Here." Jack said and handed the glass to her.

She drank only half of the glass' contents and gave it back to him. Without a word, he went back to the bathroom.

Her lamp was off and she was lying on the bed when he returned. Sighing, he went to his side of the bed and prayed that Irina would start to sleep dreamlessly after this. He was about to turn off the light when Irina suddenly started to speak.

"You're a dream aren't you?"

Jack glanced at her and found her staring at him once again, "Unfortunately, I'm not a dream. You were dreaming a while ago." He said slightly acerbically.

"That's what the people in my dreams always say." She replied. She then scrutinized his face, "It always felt so real that I don't know the difference anymore."

He shifted his position so that he was facing her, "You're not dreaming, Irina. You're home."

"You'll disappear later." She whispered and started to distance herself from him. She'd rather go through physical torture than face someone who doesn't care for her any longer. Or so she says to herself.

"I'm real." It suddenly occurred to Jack that she might still be asleep and was dreaming that she was dreaming.

Irina clasped her hands together for comfort and curled into a small. Tears began to cloud her vision, so she closed her eyes. When she wakes up, she'll be back in her cell again.

The tears began to roll down her cheeks. Real or not, she'll still feel alone. What difference does it make? But she didn't open her eyes. If this was indeed a dream, then she didn't want to wake up.

Jack placed his hand over hers. He couldn't explain why he was doing this. Irina was still suffering from trauma, a gift from her six-month captivity. It seemed that she hid this problem very well.

Something caught his eye. Jack gently took her hand and studied the pink, raw skin that encircled Irina's wrists. Upon clear inspection, he realized that the jagged edges etched in her skin were made by the chains that bounded her.

'Why does it still look fresh?' he thought. Maybe this was the reason why she always wore those long sleeved blouses even though summer was making itself known to them. She didn't want anyone to see her still-fresh wounds.

"Irina?" knowing that she was still awake, he softly laid his hand to her arm. His wound stung, but he didn't mind. It's Irina who he needs to attend to.

She opened her eyes. Jack's face was still in front of her and his hand was touching her arm.

Jack brushed the tears away from her cheeks, "Don't worry, I'm not going to go anywhere soon." He said, feeling perfectly safe that he was talking to Irina in her dream state.

Irina blinked. This was the first time a dream said that to her. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to relax. She peered into his eyes, "You're not going to go anywhere?"

"No."

The expression on her face was still doubtful. It appeared that the in-dream-state Irina was as stubborn as the conscious Irina.

Jack sighed. If this 'conversation' continued, he'll never be able to get sleep. Thus, he took her right hand and laced their fingers together.

"If you wake up tomorrow and I am not holding your hand, I will answer all the questions you want to ask."

Irina gave a small yawn, "Why will I want to ask questions? You're really a dream. The real Jack wouldn't want to hold my hand anymore." She said quite drowsily.

He shouldn't have been shocked with what she said. Or hurt for that matter, but he was feeling both.

Irina sighed as her eyes fluttered to a close. She squeezed his hand unconsciously and after a few minutes, was fast asleep again.

Jack watched her for a while. Thoughts began to swirl in his head. What made her say that? What did they want from her? What was she hiding from them?

Of course, he couldn't answer those questions.

He turned off the lamp. As he lay in the darkness, he felt Irina move closer to him.

"Promise you won't go?" she whispered.

Jack looked at her. He gently clasped her hand and then kissed it.

"I promise."

-x-x-x-  
Sofya quietly entered her mother's room. It was six o'clock in the morning, a bit early for her to be awake. But the pain in her stomach woke her up and no amount of meditation/crying could stop it. The doctor she tranquilized was right; her wounds do open up easily.

She headed straight to the bathroom and searched for the painkillers.

'Just one. I need just one.' She thought as her eyes scanned the contents of the medicine cabinet. It was their birthday today and she needed to put on a happy face. They should not begin to worry about her.

A few minutes later, she found the container, popped the pill in her mouth and drank the glass of water.

As she waited for the pain to subside, her eyes roamed the sink. There were two toothbrushes, two toothpastes, two combs, two face towels… there were two of everything inside the bathroom.

'Oh my god, what if he stays? I can't avoid him forever!' she thought. The man inflicted pain upon her. She was afraid of him when she was in CIA custody and she was still afraid of him now. She didn't mind her sisters, they were okay. But him? She didn't know him and she doesn't intend to know him.

Minutes passed and she quietly went out of the bathroom. Out of curiosity, she looked at the bed. Why was her grandmother eager to put them in one room? Its not like they're going to have sex the moment they are alone in a room with a bed.

Her eyes widened in surprise the moment her eyes rested on the occupants of the bed. Her mother had been avoiding him like plague and as far as she knew, was angry at him. And yet they were holding hands and sleeping peacefully as if nothing happened.

She suddenly felt afraid. What if he insulated himself into the family?

Sofya took a deep breath. 'Relax, Iya. He's not going to do that…' she thought and decided to leave.

She left as quietly as she entered.

When he heard the door close, Jack opened his eyes and looked at where his daughter stood. He had heard her come in and was interested in why she headed straight to the bathroom when she had one in her bedroom.

Jack then looked at Irina. She was still asleep, thankfully, and she didn't wake up after he held her hand.

He felt relieved. He was not ready to talk to her. Not yet.

She rested her head on his shoulder. He pulled her closer and heard her sigh.

Sometimes, he wished that their relationship can be as simple as this.

-x-x-x-  
"So, what do you think they're doing?"

Vaughn looked at his friend. He is in Weiss' house, lounging in the sofa and drinking beer, "I don't know. Having fun, I guess." He shrugged as he took a sip from the bottle.

Weiss fell silent for a while and leaned back on his comfy chair. He decided to ask something that has been bothering him for that past couple of days.

"What was your reaction when Sydney told you?"

"Surprised." Vaughn answered, "I mean Sloane and Jack, those two… but come to think of it, we shouldn't have been surprised, really." He added and took another sip from his beer.

"How could Jack do that, anyway? He abandoned Nadia in an orphanage and then when they finally meet again, he pretends he doesn't know her." Weiss exclaimed.

"Hey, I don't know how Jack's mind works, so don't ask me." Vaughn said and took the bowl of chips on the coffee table, "Why not ask him when he comes back?"

"Whoa, dude. Did Sydney mention to you Nadia explicitly told her not to tell anyone?"

Vaughn shrugged and ate a handful of the potato chips, "Do you mind if I crash on your couch tonight?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Nope." Weiss took back the bowl of chips from Vaughn, "As long as you don't come knocking in my bedroom, asking for a cuddle."

Vaughn threw to him the remaining chips in his hand. Weiss grinned and continued eating.

-x-x-x-  
(6.30 AM)

The soft resonance of the piano was the first sound Nadia heard as she walked down the mahogany staircase. She recognizes the tune as that of Beethoven's _Moonlight Sonata_ and its coming from the living room. Since it's too early for breakfast, Nadia decided to check on who's playing.

She quietly stepped in the living room and found Sofya in front of the piano. Nadia sat down on one of the chairs and listened to her sister play.

A few minutes later, Sofya finished playing the piece. She then looked at her one and only audience, who smiled at her.

"Hi." Nadia greeted.

Sofya smiled back at her, "Hello. Good morning."

Her younger sister's attitude brightened her mood. Sometimes, Sofya seems a bit antagonistic towards her and Sydney, and it bothers her. She wants to get to know Sofya and Nathan. After all, they are her younger siblings—it was something that only occurs in her dreams.

"You play really well."

Sofya's cheeks suddenly felt hot with embarrassment, "Uh, thanks." She doesn't really get a lot of comments about her piano playing, except from her family—people whom she grew up with. And like any other families, her family can really make you believe you're extraordinarily good.

"Do you play?" Sofya asked.

Nadia slightly shook her head, "I'm not that good."

Her younger sister raised a brow. She then scooted over the edge of the seat and patted the empty space next to her.

"Come on; show me what you've got."

Nadia smiled and stood up. She then walked towards the piano and sat beside Sofya.

"Go on." She coaxed when Nadia just looked at her, "I'm not going to shoot you if you make a mistake. And besides, I don't have a gun."

This time, Nadia raised a brow. Sofya grinned even wider as she gently took her sister's wrist and placed it on top of the keys.

Nadia began playing the birthday song.

Sofya laughed, "Oh, wow. You know." She remarked, referring to her birthday.

"Mama sort of tipped us off." Nadia answered, "Happy birthday."

Her sister lowered her head slightly, and then smiled again, "Thanks. You'd be celebrating yours in two days, right?"

"Yes." Nadia nodded. She gazed at her sister. Sofya is so much like their mother, and yet even if she didn't grew up with their father, there's still a small imprint of Jack in her. Actually, each and every one of her siblings has an imprint of Jack Bristow in them, whether they like it or not.

"How do you find, uh, Jack?" she asked when Sofya started tinkering with the piano.

She stopped playing and looked at her. Nadia could see her hazel eyes glittering and she could feel her burning stare, but she doesn't care. She wants this family whole again and she needs to know what her siblings think of their father to know what her next step should be.

"No comment." She replied, shrugging. "I'm making a conscious effort not to know, so…" she reverted her gaze from Nadia and began playing Für Elise.

"Aren't you at least interested in him?" Nadia asked softly.

Sofya tried to keep her temper from flaring since this is a long-lost relative, "He managed to send me to Death's door, so I guess the answer is still no."

Nadia decided to drop the subject. She's seeing the signs of stubbornness that she also possessed. She knows that she'll not get anywhere with her sister if she continues asking her about Jack.

Sofya's fingers danced on the keys. She had watched Dylan play effortlessly in the Zagmun restaurant and she knows how hard it is to play a difficult piece and act like its just a piece of cake. Truth be told, acting like everything is fine and dandy when it's the total opposite is damn too difficult.

A few minutes later, she stopped and looked at Nadia.

"Are you hungry? I can make breakfast if you want."

-x-x-x-  
(8.30 AM)

"So, we can call you Uncle Jack?"

Elena laughed as she watched the interaction between Roan, Yuan, Hanna and Jack Bristow, who were all in the garden. The man looked absolutely horrified at their question.

Jack looked at her and then back to the children, "Yes, you may."

"You won't get angry?"

Elena looked at her sister, who was reading the newspaper. "You look well rested." She said in a soft, almost teasing, voice.

"Are you implying something?" Irina asked a bit irately. When she had woken up, Jack was looking at her and holding her hand. It was a very awkward moment.

"No," Elena answered and sipped her coffee. "But you look really well rested."

Irina looked at her older sister and raised a brow. She lowered the newspaper and leaned back on the chair, "It's not at all comfortable to discuss certain issues when all your close relatives are in the same house as you are."

Suddenly, a wicked smile appeared on her sister's face.

"Oh, that's why two days from now, all your close relatives will be leaving."

It was a stunning blow to Irina who suddenly gaped at her. They were leaving her?

Her temper suddenly began to rise and she was about to say some things to Elena when Nathan and Sofya entered the kitchen, both wearing bright smiles on their faces.

"Hi mom, Aunt Lena." Sofya greeted. In her arm was her golden retriever.

The expression on Irina's face suddenly changed. This could wait for later.

"Hello, sweeties. Happy birthday to both of you…"


	37. thirty five

**CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE**

"We are quite the outsiders to this gathering, aren't we?" Sark said as he sat down next to Jack Bristow. They were on the patio, watching the small party happening inside the dining hall. Frankly speaking, he had had no idea that this day would come—the day that he and a CIA agent would be staying on the same property, having dinner together and not killing each other. It was something that he and Irina had in common.

Jack didn't say anything and concentrated on how Sydney, Nadia, Nathan and Sofya interacted with each other. Each of them was holding something back, but they related to each other very well.

"They hide their emotions quite well, don't you think?" Sark asked as he sipped his wine, "And I meant Nate and Iya, of course."

This time, Jack looked at the young man beside him, "You shouldn't really be surprised." He flashed Sark a steely glare, warning him to stop talking to him, and then turned his attention back to his children.

"It's really surprising how they can act so much like you when things go out of hand. Although I must say that their temper is very much like Irina's." Sark leaned forward in his chair, "Nate has a cooler head, though."

Jack ignored him. He didn't need reminding that Julian Sark knew his twins better than he did. The Derevko's could be a very twisted family if they wanted to be, and hearing how deviant his children could be from an equally deviant distant relative was very wrong.

Irina suddenly came into his view. She was smiling and seemed to have no care about the world outside her family. Also, the 'night adventures' that posed a problem for her every night didn't seem to come to light during the day.

"Irina Derevko is one remarkable woman. Imagine, raising two feisty children while at the same time trying to make them invisible to everyone in the intelligence community, finding her lost daughter, watching after her eldest child, running an organization to discover the extent of Rambaldi's prophecies and deceive almost everyone she works with. She did all that without having a nervous breakdown." Sark looked at Jack, waiting for his reaction.

He gave him another steely glare, "I don't need you to tell me about Irina or my children."

"Why, because you know them better than me?"

They glared at each other. Sark coolly gazed at him with his clear, blue eyes. He didn't really know why he was taunting the man. It was fun watching his reaction, but most of the time, his reaction was so dull that he'd ask himself why he'd bothered in the first place.

"Hey, Julian."

Both men looked towards the speaker. It was Sofya.

"Do you have any plans to have lunch with us?" it was sarcastic, but Jack could see that there was a hint of genuine concern in her eyes.

Sark glanced at Jack, "In a while-"

"Grandmamma says now." Sofya interrupted, smirking, "And take… _Mr. Bristow_ with you."

Jack looked at his daughter, who, as usual, avoided his gaze. She was so stubborn, like her mother.

At the same time, Sark emptied his glass of wine and stood up, "Come on, Agent Bristow. You don't want your daughter and your son to wait for you, especially on their birthday."

He heard Sofya snort upon hearing his comment. Sark looked at her, but she had already turned her back to them.

Sark went after her. He didn't look back to see if Jack was following them.

-x-x-x-  
(that night)

Nathan peeked through the gap in the barely-open door, looking for his sister. He was going to ask her if she wanted to play his new PS2 game with him. Sofya had always been an avid fan of fighting games— the bloodier, the better. These games showed how competitive she was and what a sore loser she could be.

"Iya?" he called out, pushing the door slightly. Frasier, the puppy, was already asleep in his doggie bed. Sofya was nowhere in the room.

'That's weird.' He thought and stepped into the room. Sofya always retired to her bedroom earlier than him so that she could play with her computer. Or 'chat' with her friends from the other side of the world.

"Iya?" he called out again. Nathan looked around, trying to find a clue to his sister's whereabouts. Her bathroom door was closed and seemingly without light. She couldn't be downstairs because he saw her go up. She couldn't be with Sydney because she was with Nadia in her room, watching a movie. She couldn't be in the East Wing because they're already asleep, and she would certainly not be found in their mother's room since Jack Bristow was there. Her room was the most logical place where she could be, and yet, she was not there.

'Maybe she's upstairs.' He thought. When he turned around to leave though, he heard a sobbing sound. It was coming from the bathroom.

Nathan walked towards it and knocked, "Iya, are you there?"

She didn't answer. He sighed and tried the knob. It was unlocked. Nathan opened the door and looked inside.

His sister was sitting on the cold, tiled floor by the sink. Her back was facing him, but Nathan could see that her shoulders were shaking. Her brown hair was messy and she seemed to be crying.

"Iya, are you okay?" Nathan asked worriedly as he went in.

"Yes." She answered in between sobs.

Forgetting about the video game, he approached his twin and kneeled beside her. He looked at her face. It was pale and tear-streaked, "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked and smoothed his sister's hair.

Sofya bit her lip and shook her head, "I'm fine." A spasm of pain went through her and she clenched her fist as a new batch of tears fell.

"Yeah, right." Her twin replied sarcastically. He then surmised that it was one of her wounds acting up again, although he could be wrong since she had just been wrestling over the remote control with him. Maybe she was having a bout of hyperacidity?

"Just leave—oh, bloody hell!" she muttered. She could feel her shirt getting wet with her blood. This couldn't be happening. She had been fine until a few minutes ago, and even if this murderous pain had occurred a few times in the past, it didn't end up with her stab wound tearing open.

"Do you want to stand up? Maybe it wouldn't hurt that much if you move a little." Her brother said, concerned.

"I can't." Fear was apparent in her tone, "It might bleed even more."

Nathan immediately looked at the location of her stab wound. A big blotch of blood was staining the white shirt and it was getting bigger.

_s_. He thought and lifted her shirt. The dressing was already soaked in crimson, "What did you do, Iya?" Nathan exclaimed.

A ripple of pain went through her again, "I didn't do anything." She hissed.

Nathan carefully peeled off the gauze. Her blood began to stain his fingers. It was quite a reminder of the first time his sister's blood was in his hands.

"First aid kit?"

"I don't have one." Nathan looked at her incredulously, and she continued, "You dared me to throw it away, remember? So I did. And besides, I think its needs re-stitching."

Her brother looked at it closer and found out that she was right. Her grabbed one of the face towels from a rack and pressed it on her wound, "I'll get mama." Both of them know that he couldn't help her in the stitch-the-wound aspect of their problem.

Nathan stood up and rushed out. He headed straight towards the door of his mother's room and barged inside without knocking.

"Mama?"

The deep and commanding voice filled with so much concern pulled Jack's attention away from the book he was reading. He looked up and found Nathan coming inside the main bedroom.

"Bathroom." He said. Irina had been in the bathroom for almost ten minutes, and it was quite worrying since he was not hearing a single sound from inside. He was going to wait till after fifteen minutes before knocking, but since Nathan stepped in…

Nathan ignored the man stretched on his mother's bed and headed straight towards the bathroom.

"Mama?" he said and knocked on the door. Remnants of Sofya's blood in his knuckles tainted the door.

Almost immediately the door cracked open.

"Mama, Iya needs-" he stopped short, "Have you been crying?" he asked after seeing his mother's eyes.

"I'm fine." Irina opened the door wider, "What's wrong with Iya?"

Nathan took a step backwards as his mother stepped forward, "She needs stitches. Her wound opened up."

Irina blinked. It was almost as if she didn't hear the words, "Where is she?"

"She's in her bathroom. And she doesn't have a first aid kit…" he trailed off when his mother went back to the bathroom and took her first aid kit from one of the cabinets.

Without saying a word, she went out into the hallway and turned towards the door to her right, which was Sofya's room. Nathan was trailing behind her.

"Mom?"

Irina knelt beside Sofya. She looked at her daughter's face and gave her a reassuring smile. She then lifted the towel and inspected the bleeding wound, "Are you okay?" she asked, however she knew that Sofya would lie about her current state, and she started to clean it. The stitches had become undone and the skin had forced itself to open. It was nothing serious, but it needed to be stitched again.

A few minutes later, Irina turned to her son who is standing by the doorway, "Could you get Jack here please?" in the corner of her eye, she saw Sofya give her a horrified glance.

Nathan started to protest, "But he's not a doctor! Aunt Lena is!"

Impatience glittered in Irina's eyes, "It's already late. He can help." When Nathan didn't seem to budge, she glared irately at him, "Now, Nathan."

When he left, she turned her attention back to Sofya, "What have you been doing? There are bruises around this wound."

Sofya heard the reprimanding tone, but didn't say anything. Fear and pain were overwhelming her. Jack Bristow was going to help in the re-stitching process. What if he does something totally unhelpful?

Jack appeared at the door a few seconds later.

"Irina."

She motioned for him to come closer, "I don't trust my hands right now." She said and handed him the antiseptic.

Jack saw the terrified expression on his youngest daughter's face. She was afraid of him and she doesn't trust him. It was something of his own doing, and he was regretting that he had been very harsh on her.

He looked at the wound before rummaging through the first aid kit for the things he needed.

Tears began to flood Sofya's eyes as she watched Jack. She feels like fainting. Or running away. Her mother wants him to do the re-stitching.

Is she insane?

Her mother took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. But Sofya felt that no amount of squeezing or hugging would take this fear away.

"This will hurt a bit…" Jack muttered as he inserted the needle in her flesh.

A few minutes and a river of tears later, Sofya's wound was being covered with a new dressing.

"Are you okay?" Irina quietly asked as she smoothed the edges of the gauze. Her daughter's face was so pale and she was staring at her father, who was cleaning up the equipment.

Sofya shook her head. "May I stand?" she asked. Her butt was numb from sitting on the cold floor.

"No." Jack answered. She looked at him and he continued, "Your wounds open up easily. If you stand up, odds are it'll bleed again."

"Do you have to drag me to my bed?" Sofya replied, almost snottily. She would not thank this man for stitching her up because in a sense, he had inflicted pain on her again.

'Was she testing him against their daughter?' Jack thought as he closed the first aid kit. He then stood up and looked at Sofya.

He placed the supplies on top of the sink before lifting her off the floor.

Sofya stared at him, almost shocked by his action. What was he doing?

Jack carried her out and across the bedroom. He gently placed her on the queen-sized bed. He looked at her with his usual stoic face and she looked back with the same expression.

After a few seconds, he left the room.

Nathan approached her and sat at the foot of the bed. He was a bit surprised with what Jack did, and he realized that he really was an unpredictable man.

"Hey. You're okay, right?" Sofya nodded her head, "Good. We'll play Tekken tomorrow." He smiled at her and then stood up, "Good night."

"Good night."

Her mother was next to sit down on her bed. She was looking at her with motherly concern. "Has this occurred before?" she asked.

"No." Sofya answered. Irina looked at her, trying to gauge if she' was lying.

"I want you to stay in bed all day tomorrow." Irina said, "Please don't scare me like that again." She saw this child grow up. She tried to keep Sofya away from the things that she had been doing and was only partially successful with her task. However, she would not let her experience this pain, worry and exhaustion again.

"Okay."

Irina embraced her. Sofya felt safe again.

"Good night."

"Good night to you too, mom."

She watched as her mother left her room. Thoughts began to race through her head. She couldn't understand it. He had done terrible things to her, to them. How could she still have a drop of trust in that man?

A little part of her realized that her mother wanted her to trust him and not to view him as the evil enemy.

She began to mull things over and over again. What was she going to do?

And then she realized that a little part of her… does trust him.


	38. thirty six

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX**

"Do you come here often?" Nadia asked Hanna, the youngest of the Derevkos. They were sitting on the grass by the mahogany tree. Sydney was braiding her cousin's long, brown, silky hair and seemed to be having fun doing it.

"Every summer." Hanna answered, "Its fun. We get to stay in all of Aunt's Irina's houses before visiting grandpapa and grandmamma in France."

"Oh." Nadia replied. She smiled at the young girl and then reached out to tuck the errant strand of hair behind Hanna's ear.

"You know, Aunt Irina does that too." Hanna said suddenly.

"Really?" Nadia remarked. She smiled wider; she had something in common with her mother in terms of mannerisms.

Sydney tightly tied the rubber band at the end of the braid, "Okay, all done."

"Thank you." Hanna chirpily replied as she touched her hair. Turning to Sydney, she asked, "Do you want me to do yours?"

Sydney smiled, "Sure." She took off her ponytail and handed her comb to her cousin. This was such a nice departure from her 'usual' vacations.

"I've practiced a lot on Iya, Mommy and Aunt Irina's hair." Hanna informed them, "It was a bit hard to tie Iya's hair because she always moves her head everywhere." She imitated her cousin, lolling her head back and forth.

Nadia laughed at the exaggeration, "Don't let her see you." She handed the girl the fine-toothed comb.

"She doesn't mind. Mommy says Iya knows how to laugh at herself." She stood up and walked behind Sydney. She then kneeled down and started to comb Sydney's hair, "After Sydney, I'll braid your hair, Nadia. Okay?"

In the distance, Svetlana and Elena were watching them.

"What a lovely sight, Lena." Svetlana whispered. The little girls of her little girls were having a small moment. She never thought that this would happen as their lives were so convoluted that it was almost impossible to see each other without security protocols.

Elena nodded her head in agreement. Too bad Irina forbade Sofya to get out of bed. It would have been even a lovelier sight.

Her mother looked at her, "Has Irina said anything about her imprisonment?"

"No." Elena answered, "She hasn't said a word about it."

Svetlana shook her head. She was worried about this revelation. She was sure that Irina was experiencing psychological trauma. That was one of the reasons why she put Jack in the same room as her. At the back of her mind, she knew that he could help.

"She'll talk when she wants to talk, mama." Elena said when she saw the anxious look on her mother's face, "You know her..."

The older woman sighed, "Yes, but your father and I were worried-"

"We all were, mama. We all were."

-x-x-x-

Irina knocked softly on the door before entering her daughter's room. As she opened the door, the soft strumming of the guitar strings drifted to her. Nathan must be keeping his twin company.

She looked at the bed and found its two occupants busy in their own worlds. Sofya was leaning against the headboard, reading a book and listening to her iPod, while Nathan was reclined across the queen-sized bed, strumming his guitar but also seemed to be listening to his iPod.

Irina's mouth twitched in amusement before walking across the uncluttered floor. She stood by the left side of the bed, but neither seemed to have noticed her.

She took off her shoes and climbed up onto the bed.

Sofya took off her earphones and looked at her, "It seems that you've finally remembered that you have another daughter and a son." She remarked as she placed a bookmark in between the pages she was reading. She gently kicked at Nathan's feet, which were propped on top of her ankles, to alert him that they had company.

Irina raised a brow. She was surprised at her daughter's reaction. She had thought that Sofya had accepted that she had sisters.

Nathan took off his earphones and shifted his position to look at their mother. He had heard his sister's rants a few hours ago and he wanted to see how their mother would react to them.

She didn't say anything and instead waited for her daughter to expound more on what she just said.

Sofya pressed her lips together, "It's just that, I'm not used sharing my mother with sisters." She looked at Nathan, "Sharing you with a smelly brother was easy, but sisters? I don't really know how that goes." She said and shrugged.

Irina scrutinized her child's face. Her mouth was set on a stubborn line and her eyebrows, furrowed. She was hiding a valley of emotions behind a 'thinking' expression.

Sighing, she wrapped her right arm around Sofya's shoulder, "There's no need to be confused about it, Iya."

"Or jealous." Nathan interjected, "Or bitter."

Irina glanced at her son before looking back at Sofya, "There's no need to be confused, jealous or bitter about it Iya."

"Why, because you love us all equally?"

"Yes."

Sofya flashed her mother an expression of slight indignation, "That was so cliché, mom."

"Cliché or not, it's the truth."

Sofya looked at her brother. He was taking up the role of a sound board again.

"Nate, Iya, I know that this must be hard for you, and I know that there was resentment on your part. I am at fault with what you're going through, and I am sorry for that-"

"Mama, stop it." Nathan interrupted, "You don't have to say that again. You've already apologized for almost everything that happened recently. It's not all your fault."

"We used our twisted imagination to rescue you, and our twisted imagination got us into trouble. Jack Bristow, who happened to donate half of his genetic materials to us, happened to be part of the organization who wants to catch us. It's partly his fault, his organization's fault, our fault but mostly Nathan's fault, and your fault." Sofya added.

Irina looked at her, "You just managed to implicate your sisters in the process."

"So, technically speaking, it's everyone's fault?" Nathan asked.

Irina felt really confused and amused at the same time. This always happened when she had these kinds of conversations with Nathan and Sofya. Somehow, it always felt so normal.

Sofya sighed and leaned towards her mother. Ever since she could remember, her mother was always there for her. She was always there for them even if she seemed so far away. When they needed her she was always there. It provided her and her brother a little predictability in their somewhat unpredictable lives.

"Mom, do you still love him?" Sofya asked after a few minutes.

Her question made Nathan look at his mother and Irina stiffened slightly.

"Why do you ask?" she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she monitored her son's reaction. She tried to relax herself as she tried to formulate a convincing negative answer.

"Just wondering," Sofya shifted her position so that she could face her mother, "So, do you still love him? Because I know that you still have a flicker of trust in him from what I saw yesterday." She said referring to the stitching last night.

"Iya, I still have that _flicker of trust_ in him because I know that he'll never put you, your sisters or your brother in any danger." Irina replied, "That doesn't mean I still love him."

"So what you're saying was that you trust him, but you don't love him anymore?" Nathan asked.

Irina sighed. She knew that it wasn't true, but she didn't want to admit it, "Could we not talk about this? Please?"

"Why not?" Sofya and Nathan simultaneously asked.

"Because." She answered. She sighed again and then caressed her daughter's cheek, "Just drop the subject for now, sweethearts. I don't have an answer yet."

"Are you sure that you don't have an answer yet or you have an answer but you don't want to tell us?" Nathan asked.

Irina gave him a steely glare, "Drop it."

Nathan grinned, showing the deep dimples in his cheeks. He then reclined on the bed once again and started to strum his guitar. Seconds later, he started to sing.

Sofya threw at him the small pillow by her side and then started to laugh when Nathan started to sing in an opera-like voice.

Irina smiled. Somehow, her family seemed to be complete.

-x-x-x-

_November 1987_

Jack quietly entered their bedroom. He was able to leave the office after lunch, thanks to Devlin, and he immediately headed straight home. Irina was feeling out of sorts today and she needed a little help with the kids. Sometimes having skills that enabled you to survive dangerous missions didn't seem to be enough to raise children.

He glanced at the bed and found Irina and Nadia taking a nap. The six month old twins were in their cribs, also asleep. He looked at his watch. Sydney needed to be fetched from school in two hours.

Noiselessly, he walked across the room. He deposited his briefcase by the vanity table before going to the bathroom to change his clothes.

It was hard to rebuild the family in a new country, especially with a new member in tow. The situation was a bit complicated and it had been difficult to explain to Sydney how her mother, whom she thought had died in a car accident, turned out to be alive. It took a few weeks to fully convince their daughter that her mother was not a zombie or a ghost. Nadia, however, was accepted at a snap of a finger. Sydney's eyes lighted up and felt so thrilled that she didn't ask questions like, _"Is Nadia a zombie? She came from mommy's tummy and mommy's a zombie..."_ Thankfully, the zombie and ghost-related questions subsided after a few weeks. Almost everything was back to its semi-normalness after that.

He looked at himself in the mirror. He could see several gray hairs showing themselves at the side of his head, and he knew that gray hair was one of the first signs of aging. He was conscious about it at first since he was only thirty-seven, but Irina had told him that it was fine and it was sexy.

After changing, he left the bathroom and looked in the cribs again. Nathan was fast asleep, but Sofya must have been wide awake for some time as she seemed very amused with reaching for her toes.

"Hello," he whispered as he bent down to caress his daughter's head. She gurgled and stared at him with her wide, innocent, hazel eyes.

Jack watched her in amazement. They seemed so perfect, that a lot of the time he couldn't believe that he and Irina had created these children.

Sofya reached for his fingers and started to tug at them so that she could put them in her mouth.

He chuckled and lifted the baby from her crib. He smiled widely at his daughter before kissing her on the forehead.

Little Sofya looked back at him. She then poked her chubby finger in her father's cheek and waited for a reaction.

Jack responded by making a face.

His daughter's eyes twinkled before smiling. Jack made another funny face and this time Sofya laughed hysterically.

"Papa?" a small voice called out.

Jack looked behind him and found Nadia, whose black hair was messy, climbing off the bed. When she neared him, he kneeled down to kiss her.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Did we wake you up?" he asked when the five-year old rubbed her eyes.

"No, papa." Nadia answered, "I was thirsty."

"Oh," Jack commented and stood up, "Let's go to the kitchen, then." He said and took her left hand.

They silently walked out of the room and headed to the stairs. Nadia could hear her little sister gurgling, but was too thirsty to respond to it.

Jack placed Sofya in a high chair before going to the refrigerator to take out a glass pitcher of water. He then took Nadia's glass and poured in the water before giving it to her.

"Thank you, papa."

"You're welcome."

Jack sat on the chair and watched Sofya bang her hands on the plastic table. A few minutes later, Nadia sat in front of him and did the same thing.

"How was your mama?" Jack asked.

"She was sick." His daughter answered, "She said her head hurted but she took medicine so she will be okay." Nadia said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Mama's head hurts." Jack corrected

"Mama's head hurts." Nadia repeated, nodding her head. She seemed to be very awake now.

Jack nodded his head too, "Even if mama took the medicine, she'll be feeling a little bit sick, okay? So still no running around, okay?"

His daughter nodded her head, "Okay, papa. I promise."

Jack looked at Sofya and then to his watch, "Do you want to come with me when I fetch Sydney?"

Nadia's face lighted up. She had never seen Sydney' school in the afternoon.

"Yes, papa!"


	39. thirty seven

**CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN**

The ball fell to the floor and bounced back to the hands of the person who threw it. He threw it to the floor again and caught it effortlessly. He eyed the basketball ring, which seems to be watching him as if waiting for him to throw the ball towards it.

Nathan dribbled for a few more seconds before jumping to shoot. The swish of the net clapped in his ears when he saw the ball fly directly into the ring. A lucky shot since he's more of an inside shooter.

Minutes later, he began imitating the moves of the basketball stars. Fade away shot, slam dunks, fakes... imitating basketball moves is easier than imitating that of soccer, especially in the early morning. He doesn't need to go out of the house for basketball; all he needs to do is go two floors down.

Sweat began to bead in his forehead and he continued in a faster and harder pace, in a farther distance.

Jack is standing by the door, wordlessly watching his son play. He must admit that Nathan has a better built than him when he was the same age. The muscles in his son's arms and legs are much toned and quite sculpted—what did Irina feed him? He didn't have that kind of muscles when he was eighteen; in fact, he was a scrawny eighteen-year old and he only buffed up after two years as a field agent for the CIA.

The ball bounced off against the ring. After retrieving the ball, Nathan tried again and got the same result. It seems that his shooting rate is going down.

He sighed and wiped his brow.

"Try not to flick your wrist too much."

Nathan looked towards Jack's direction. He didn't notice him standing there. He then turned his attention back to the ball and started dribbling. He tried again, this time, minimizing the flicking.

The swooshing of the net was the reward for his action.

Jack hid his smile when Nathan looked at his direction again.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with antagonism, but not with the same intensity as before. He had realized from the conversation with his sister that their mother still has 'positive' feelings for this man. And he wants to know how this man feels about her and he can't do that if he antagonizes him too much.

_'What will you do if you find out that he doesn't feel a thing for her?'_

Jack leaned on the door frame, "Your mother told me to explore the house."

"Really, she said that?" Nathan let the ball drop as he wiped his sweaty face with his shirt, "Is she still asleep?"

"No." Jack answered. His guard started to creep up. His son's 'friendliness', though he welcomes it, is a bit suspicious, "Why do you ask?"

His son shrugged, "Just asking." He looked at him with his piercing, hazel eyes, "I heard that you held my mother's hand while she slept?"

"Why all these questions?" Jack asked, giving him an identical stare. The young man took a few steps closer to him. His jaw is clenched, as if he's holding back his tongue.

"We want to know why you're here." Nathan answered, "What do you want, Mr. Bristow? Aside from bringing us to custody, of course."

He crossed his arms in front of him, "I wanted answers. And I wanted to see for myself whether the children I mourned for fifteen years ago are alive."

Nathan took a deep breath, "If she gives you answers, will you go?"

Jack felt like he's being challenged again.

"Nate?"

Sofya slowly and carefully walked down the stairs. She needs this done and over with. She has just slipped out of her room since her mother explicitly told her to stay in bed until breakfast (which is at nine).

"In the gym."

She quietly walked towards the gym and found that Jack Bristow is blocking the entrance, "Excuse me," she said in a slightly acerbic manner and waited for him to move.

Jack looked at her before giving way. She ignored him and went inside.

"Where is it? You were supposed to bring it up for me to wrap and not the other way around!" Sofya irately said to Nathan, "If mom finds out, I'll kill you."

Her brother pointed her towards the bench, "Mama won't find out." He looked at their guest, knowing full well that Jack knows Sofya isn't allowed to get out of bed this early.

She walked towards the bench and found the gift their going to give Nadia, "Ooooh, pretty." She remarked as she took the thick, handmade, leather-bound diary. She glanced at her brother,

"Finally, Nate. Something with style and elegance." She smirked at him before cautiously sitting down and going about with the wrapping.

Nathan resumed with the basketball shooting, keeping in mind to flick his wrists less.

He watched quietly as his son and daughter go about with their own business. Jack didn't want to interfere. He doesn't know how they'll react if he started acting like a friend or a father. He knows he'll be rejected outright. So he'd rather wait until they are all ready before starting anything.

"Nate, do you have a pen?" Sofya asked as she tied the blue ribbon around the gift-wrapped box.

Her brother looked at her and shook his head. She raised a brow, "You gave me everything needed to wrap this gift and included a card, yet there's no pen to write the recipient's name?"

"Its fine if you don't write her name. I mean, it's her birthday." He answered.

"Two people celebrated their birthday yesterday and unfortunately, one of them was disappointed that we gave her a crappy gift."

"A remote controlled car isn't a crappy gift." Nathan answered quite defensively since he was the one who chose the gift.

"Maybe for Roan, its not. But for Hanna?"

Her brother sighed, "Do we have to argue about this? Its early morning."

She rolled her eyes and started to stand up, "Fine, I'll be bringing this upstairs." Slowly she started to walk towards the door.

Jack expected that she's going to walk past him, avoiding eye contact, just the ways she did in the past few days. Predictability is something that people with grudges have in common.

When Sofya neared her father, she looked up and gazed directly into his eyes. Her hazel orbs are filled with indignation, but it didn't extend to the expression on her face. She didn't break the eye contact until she was past the door way.

Jack kept his eye trailed on her until she disappeared from view.

'Well, what do you know? Surprise, surprise...'

-x-x-x-

Sydney stepped out of her room, fresh from the shower. She is enjoying her stay in the house—she has good sleep, she's having fun getting to know her family and relatives. But she also knows that this tranquility is not permanent. There are tensions between her mother and father, and between the twins and their father. It will not be resolved with a snap of a finger.

"Hey, dad." Sydney greeted as she closed the door to her room.

Jack looked at her, "Good morning."

She smiled brightly at him, "Good morning." She went to his side as they walked towards the stairs, "Have you greeted Nadia?"

"Not yet. I haven't seen her yet, actually." He answered, "Have you greeted her?" he asked, throwing the question back to his daughter.

Sydney shook her head, "Not yet."

As they went down the steps, Sydney couldn't help but think about the situation her parents are in. Her grandmother placed them in one room so that they could partially resolve their issues, particularly the issue about the twins. She looked at her father? Had he and her mother talked?

"Uh, how are you and mom?" she asked. Her father glanced at her and shrugged a bit.

"I'm fine. She's fine. She's dressing up right now."

"I meant the sleeping arrangement." Sydney replied.

The expression on Jack's face grew a bit unreadable, "Oh, its fine. The bed's big enough for the two of us, so..." he trailed off and waved his left hand unconsciously.

Sydney knows that's he's lying. Scrutinizing his face, she asked, "Have you talked to mom?"

"Not really."

"Dad, it's been four days!"

He didn't say anything, making Sydney sigh out loud. They can't go on like this. It will affect everyone around them, especially their progenies.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and they proceeded towards the kitchen. They could hear Danilov and Sofya talking and joking around. Nathan seems to be the focal point of their jokes. Amidst the words and the mirth, they could hear Nadia sharing in the laughter.

"Mom panicked because we weren't in our beds. She really thought there was fire raging somewhere in the house," Sofya narrated in between her giggles, "Then she found us in here, drenched from head to foot and trying to disable the fire alarm and the sprinkler. Nate saw her first and then said, _'Good morning, mama. I burned your omelette. I'm sorry you thought we were burning down the house'..."_

Danilov roared in laughter, "Why haven't I heard that kitchen fiasco before?"

"That was because it only happened last year." Maria, who is cooking in the stove, responded. Her reply elicited another round of laughter for Danilov.

Nadia tried to suppress her laughter in front of her brother, whose lips are set in a straight line. He obviously doesn't like being teased by these two, although he seems amused by how Sofya is laughing. They couldn't hear her laughter, per se, but she's giving out bursts of giggles that sound both funny and weird.

Sydney and Jack entered. They found a red-faced Nadia, a purple-faced Sofya, a laughing Danilov, a serious-faced Nathan and a cooking Maria.

"Hi." Nadia said smilingly at her father and sister.

Sydney smiled back, "Hi yourself, birthday girl." She went towards her sister and gave her a big hug, "Happy birthday."

"Thanks."

At the same time, Maria asked Nathan and Sofya to help her set the table in the patio. Like Martin, she has been with the family for almost thirteen years and is very familiar with how the twins act and react. Nathan and Sofya might throw snide remarks towards Jack and that wouldn't be deliberate. Still, it is better that they are asked to do something productive, than wait for them to something deliberately destructive.

When Irina walked in the kitchen, she found it bustling with energy. Everyone is helping out with the preparation of breakfast in the patio.

"Hi, mom. Good morning." Sofya greeted as she took the utensils from one of the drawers. When her mother opened her mouth to say something that might probably be about her wound, she added, "I'm fine. And yes, I'll just sit around and watch them murder each other later."

Irina shook her head in amusement, "Where's Nadia?"

Her youngest daughter jerked her head towards the swimming pool. Nadia is talking to Jack.

"Let me help you with that." She said to Sofya and took the butter knives from her.

As she and her teenage daughter walked towards the picnic table, Irina couldn't help but think about this day, twenty-three years from ago. She had a long and difficult labor—almost sixteen hours. She had thought that she'd give birth alone, but like a prayer answered, Elena arrived just in time before Nadia came crying to the world.

"Mom?"

Irina looked at Sofya and found her daughter looking at her with slight confusion in her face.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded her head and looked at the direction of Nadia. Jack is still talking to her. Irina sighed and started to place the knives on the table. Sofya had left her in favor of getting the plates.

"He's not going to bite you if greet Nadia now." Sydney said when she saw the expression on her mother's face.

"I want to give Jack some time with Nadia."

Sydney raised a brow, "Well, I think he wants to talk to you, anyway. Stop procrastinating, mom."

"I'm not procrastinating. I'm waiting for the right time."

"Waiting for the right time? Is that why you're still not talking to dad?" Sydney replied. She then nudged her mother, "Go."

Irina let out a deep breathe. True, she and Jack hadn't talked yet, but this morning, she woke up leaning on his shoulder. It's not like her to invade someone's personal space during sleep, especially if she knows its 'improper'. And yet, Jack didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Your mother." Jack said to Nadia as he motioned his second daughter towards Irina. Nadia, who is clutching the rectangular box her father gave her, turned around to face her mother.

"Mama." Nadia greeted happily. Her father had just given her a pearl necklace—his birthday gift to her. The funny thing that she noticed was that, while he said that it was such an impersonal present after everything he had done to her, his face was tinged in pink and seemed that he wanted her to accept it.

"Happy birthday, sweetie." Irina said softly as she hugged her tightly.

Nadia hugged her mother back. Her mother is hugging her on her birthday. Is this another dream?

As they stayed in the embrace, Nadia realized that this will be one of the best birthdays she will ever have.

-x-x-x-

"Hi, honey... how are you?" Marshall shifted his cell phone to his left hand as he tried to finish the remote scrambler for one of the agency's missions. "I'm fine... yeah, I'll be picking up Mitchell in mom's house later... don't worry... uh dinner? I'll probably make chicken. Don't worry..."

He reached for the screwdriver as Carrie recited the SOP's if ever Mitchell gets sick. She is in Virginia and will be gone for three days. She's never been gone for this long ever since they got married and it's understandable that she's worried about them. Or maybe she's just worrying about Mitchell and the house—you can never tell, really.

"Honey, we'll be fine..." He then saw Sloane walking towards his office, "Uh, Carrie, can I call you back later? My boss is coming over my office... yes, I'll call you back... okay, bye."

Arvin Sloane entered Marshall Flinkman's sanctuary, with business in mind.

He looked around, "Marshall."

The moment he heard his name, Marshall stood up and smiled at him, "Yes, Mr. Sloane, sir?"

"Before Jack left for his leave of absence, he went to your office," When Marshall nodded his head, he continued, "May I ask what he wanted?"

Marshall's brows creased. There was an unsaid agreement between him and Jack that he will not tell anyone about what he asked him to do. Although he did break that with Sydney, he doesn't intend to break it again, even if it's Sloane. But then again, this is so unlike him. Normally, he'd ask right away and not two weeks later.

"Uh, Mr. Bristow wanted to ask if I could fix his flash drive. He spilled coffee on it that morning."

Sloane raised a brow. Marshall could feel his heart starting to beat faster.

"Is that so?" Sloane asked, "Have you fixed it?"

"Uh, not yet." He replied. His palms are getting sweaty, "There's been so much going on, I kept putting it off."

The older man looked at him through his round-framed glasses, as if waiting for him to break under the pressure. It took Marshall every ounce of his courage to look back at him.

After what seemed like eternity, Sloane gave a slight nod of the head, "Agent Henderson is waiting for his remote scrambler."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Sloane. It's on its way." His smile feels so contrived, but he smiled anyway.

Marshall felt relief only after he saw Sloane walking in his office. He had just successfully lied to Arvin Sloane, evil genius/APO director/master of everything Machiavellian.

A few minutes later, after his heartbeat returned to normal, he wiped his hands on his pants and took his cell phone.

"Hi Carrie... see, I told you I'll call you back."


	40. thirty eight

**CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT**

"_The others are gone."_

Leo Deretoskiev leaned back on his chair. "Are you sure?" he looked at Mckenas Cole, who is seated by his desk. He is listening to this half of the conversation.

"_Yes, sir. What should we do?"_

"Just watch the property."

"_Yes, sir."_

He placed the phone back to its cradle. His plan is coming into action. Leo Deretoskiev looked at Cole again and smiled.

He had waited for almost thirty-one years for this.

-x-x-x-

Bubbles flew around her, some kissing her in the cheek while others landing on either the sofa or the coffee table. Sofya boringly watched it and then blew more bubbles. She's in the living room, reclined on the longer couch and waiting for Nathan to arrive with their PS2, which is connected to the television in the third floor.

'The term ideology was coined by the French Philosopher Destutt de Tracy to describe the science of ideas…' she silently recited, trying to ward the boredom away. What's taking her brother so long?

A few minutes later, the bell in her dog's collar jingled in the corridors and into the living room.

"Hi, Frasier." The puppy's tail wagged and he sat in front of her, "Where's Nate?" she asked and patted the dog's head.

"I'm here." Her brother answered and walked inside. He's holding the game console in one hand, the four controllers in the other and the wires, around his neck.

"Why all four controllers?" Sofya asked as she sat up.

Nathan took the remote control and pressed the button which will open the wooden panels that hide the flat screen television from view.

"Nadia and Syd will play with us."

"They know how to play Tekken?" she asked, slightly amused.

Her brother shrugged, "We could always play 'Tag', you know." He said as he connected the wires to the television, "It only involves buttons. Its not going to be hard teaching them."

"Who is not hard to teach?" a voice asked. Both Nathan and Sofya looked towards the direction of the voice and saw Sydney and Nadia coming in.

"Both of you." Nathan replied, "Iya was asking if you know how to play."

"Of course we know how to play." Nadia sat down next to Sofya while Sydney took a seat on the other sofa.

Seconds later, their brother handed them the controllers, "Syd's in my team." He said and sat down next to her.

Sofya gave him a mocking laugh; "Nadia and I will kick your butts!" she looked at her sister and winked.

"That's what you think."

ROUND 1! FIGHT!

Violence erupted on the screen. The exaggerated sounds of the kicks, punches and grunts of Nadia and Nathan's characters blared in the living room. The shrieks, curses and Frasier's barking added to the chaos.

The ruckus brought Irina coming down the stairs. The noise sounds like someone is being sacrificed to the devil in the first floor.

"GO NADIAAAAAAA!"

She took a peek in the living room and found Sydney and Sofya shrieking and cheering for Nathan and Nadia.

"Iya, I'm going to die!"

"Tag me!"

Irina amusedly observed the chaos in front of her. If it were only Sofya and Nathan shouting about, she would have asked them to quiet down a bit, but they're with Sydney and Nadia. She didn't imagine her children bonding over a video game. Actually, she didn't know that her two eldest daughters know how to play video games, so it didn't occur to her that her four children will bond over violent games.

"Irina."

Jack stood beside her, watching Nadia and Sofya dancing a victory jig in the middle of the room.

"Yes?"

"We need to talk." He responded in a rather impatient and demanding tone.

Irina raised a brow, "Now?" Jack knows she hates being ordered around, especially by him.

"Now."

Her eyes tightened, but she conceded to what he is asking for. She led him to the library, the only place that could shut down the noise in the living room.

Irina's thoughts began to race. Obviously, he'll want to talk about the twins. He wants to know the reasons why she hid them from him. Of course if she's going to give him answers, he needs to give out answers too.

Jack closed the double doors and locked it.

"What do you want to talk about?" Irina calmly asked as she sat down on her leather chair.

He stood in front of her desk, "What do you think?"

Irina shrugged, "Maybe it's the sleeping arrangements?"

"Its not the sleeping arrangement." Jack stoically answered, "Let me make it easier for you: it's about two scar-faced teenagers whom I thought dead for about sixteen years."

She clenched her jaw, "I tell you what you want to know and you tell me why you sequestered Nadia in that orphanage."

Jack sat down on one of the chairs, "You'll get what you want."

Irina suddenly felt angry and she doesn't know why. She could feel it burning inside her and its starting to hurt her.

_You're angry at him because he'll still think that you're a manipulative, selfish bitch when all you're doing is to protect them._

"As you might have figured out, the explosion of the hotel was a cover-up for our forced extraction. I was imprisoned until the USSR fell and I thought that Nate and Iya were with their grandparents. When I was released, I realized that I was wrong. My father informed me that they were being held in Belarus after we were taken back."

She paused for a while to take a deep breath. She's readying herself to reveal this secret that she had buried along with several other horrible memories.

"They were made to go through tests… an extreme variation of Project: Christmas was tested on them." She watched his face for any sign of anger in his face, but she only saw it in his eyes, although it quickly dissipated, "The KGB wanted to see if they could recreate the effects of the Passenger's Rambaldi serum to them. When nothing happened, they decided to raise them as agents."

Jack only stared at her. The KGB did what?

"When I finally got to them, they didn't recognize me. They were also violent and they had bruises all over their bodies. They were treated like animals and…" Irina trailed off as the images of her children cowering and screaming every time they were touched swam up in her memory. They were barely five years old back then.

"I had their memories blocked, and then relocated then to Spain. But they were considered valuable assets by my former superiors and they were tracking them down. Aligning myself with Cuvee so that it would cease, but unfortunately they found Nathan and Sofya and tried to take them away. A massacre ensued—the training that the KGB made them go through protected the twins, but also left them with those scars in their faces." Irina tried to keep her tone impassive. The past is the past. It is a tool for learning, but it's something that they have to let go.

"If I had given you any inkling that they were still alive, I would have put them in danger again." She gazed at him directly in the eyes, waiting for him to say something.

"You saw me as a threat?" the anger was in his words. He could have protected them. Why does she always underestimate him when it comes to their safety?

"I was covering all the bases."

"That's not a justification, Irina."

She suddenly felt a lump on her throat. All the effort she placed in keeping Nathan and Sofya safe, healthy and well adjusted… with Jack's words, she feels that it had just gone to waste.

"I guess you have a better justification for hiding Nadia in Argentina."

Jack shrugged, "Actually, its no better than yours."

Irina couldn't help but shake her head in frustration. How screwed can their lives get?

She stood up from the chair and started to leave. If that is the case, she'd rather not hear his explanation.

"I found Nadia in Argentina. I was securing her papers so that she could go back home with me. The KGB tracked her down and forcibly tried to take her away again. To make a long story short, they tried twice and when they couldn't get her, they tried to take Sydney."

'_She'll be eight years old in a few weeks.'_

_Jack looked at his daughter's sleeping figure, memorizing her face, her bright smile and her precociousness. When she wakes up, she'll have no recollection of the past seven years. She'll not remember him, her mother, Sydney, Nathan and Sofya. She wouldn't remember her family._

_He could feel his tears stinging his eyes as he caressed his daughter's head._

"_I hope you could forgive me, Nadia." He whispered and kissed her cheek for one last time. She wouldn't be safe with him. He is an agent for the United States with a KGB agent for a wife (please, Jack, past tense…). Her superiors are still watching him. She needs to safe._

_He took one last look and left._

Irina turned and looked at him, "You chose one of them."

"I didn't exactly have a variety of choices.

She sighed, "What have we done to them, Jack? What is the extent of the hurt and pain we afflicted on them?"

He didn't respond. How could he, when he doesn't know the answer to her question?

Irina opened the door and went out of the library. The noise her children are making assaulted, but welcomed her ears.

She headed straight to the kitchen. She doesn't want to dampen the festive spirit in the living room with her depressing mood. She wants Sydney, Nadia, Nathan and Sofya to bond.

A thought crossed her mind. Could they still mend this family?

-x-x-x-

"May I have a word with you?"

Vaughn looked up from the computer and found Dixon somberly standing in front of his desk.

"Sure." He answered and saved the document he's typing.

Dixon glanced around, "Not here," he said and walked towards the conference room.

Slightly mystified, Vaughn stood up and followed his colleague. He seems very worried about something, probably about Sloane. But why talk to him about it?

"Do you have any idea where Sydney and Nadia went to?" Dixon asked the moment the door to the conference room closed.

"Uh, not really." He answered, lying a bit.

Dixon massaged his temple, "Can you contact them? Especially Syd?"

"I can try." Vaughn replied. He can sense the tremendous anxiety from the older agent, "Why, what's wrong?"

Dixon went closer to him. In a low voice, he responded, "I heard Sloane and Chase talking. There is intel that Irina Derevko was spotted somewhere in the United Kingdom with Premenov, Vadison and Jack. Sloane has asked Chase not to send agents after them and let Jack call in first."

"What!"

"Chase has given him three days. Vaughn, if the agents arrive in wherever and Jack, Sydney and Nadia are there, Chase will not have second thoughts about sending to jail and then send the rest of the family to death row."

Vaughn's eyes widened. _'…the rest of the family to death row'_ Dixon knows?

"I'll contact Sydney."


	41. thirty nine

**CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE**

(midnight)

The kitchen light buzzed above her, seconds after she turned it on. As her head bobbed up and down to a tune only she could hear, she walked towards the refrigerator and opened it. She then stuck her head inside and after a few seconds, took out a carton of milk, a bottle of mayonnaise and a container of leftover chicken.

Sofya placed them on top of the counter before she opened the cupboards and drawers to get the loaf of bread, a butter knife and a tall drinking glass.

She placed the chicken on the microwave and started to hum the song coming from her earphones. She slathered mayonnaise on the wheat bread while she waited for the oven to finish re-heating the chicken.

A shadow fell upon her. She pretended not to notice and she continued doing her task. She knew that it's most probably Nathan with all the intention to scare her.

The shadow's hand touched her right arm and she immediately responded by elbowing him in the gut.

It was followed by a grunt, "What was that for?"

Her eyes widened in surprise and whirled around to come face to face with Julian Sark. He's holding his stomach, but seems okay.

"I'm sorry, Julian. I thought you were Nate." Sofya said, covering her giggles with her hand, "How did you come in anyway?"

"I entered through the door?" Sark replied, "I was hungry. I thought about repressing the pangs until morning but I saw the lights on."

"What would you have done if it was Jack Bristow rummaging around the kitchen?"

Sark shook his head, "I saw you walking around." The microwave beeped, telling them that the chicken is already done.

"Could you get that please?" Sofya asked and licked the mayonnaise off the knife.

"Iya, you don't do that!" Sark reprimanded, "You'll get wounded. In the tongue."

She stuck out her tongue, "It's a butter knife. It's like being pricked by a wooden needle."

Sark sighed and took two pieces of bread, "Well, if you have a wound in your tongue, it might make you stop talking for a while."

A few minutes later, they're sitting in front of each other, munching on their sandwiches.

He observed her. Her brown locks, which is normally tied up in a ponytail, is freely caressing her shoulders and framing her face. Her frameless eyeglasses are perched on top of her nose and giving her face a more mature look.

His gaze traveled downwards and to the tank top she's wearing. The color is very faded and seemed very used. Sark knows that while Sofya likes buying new clothes, she can't seem to let go of some ratty articles of clothing that still fits her.

"Earth to Julian."

Sark looked at her and Sofya staring at her amusedly, "I was asking you why Jack Bristow seems so irate with you."

"Why do you ask?" he asked as he took a bite from his sandwich.

She shrugged, "Just wondering."

"I was cocky."

"You still are." Sofya pointed out, "Aside from that little fact, Julian. Give me something that is not too obvious."

He smiled, "I don't really know. Maybe he thought I was your mother's boy-toy?"

Sofya looked at him and suddenly burst out in laughter, "Mom's boy-toy? YOU!"

She was laughing so hard that he was surprised she didn't fall down and the floor and rolled around. He didn't mind, though. She doesn't normally laugh like that in his presence so it was a nice departure from the normally uptight girl.

A few minutes later, the laughter subsided, "Oh, that was hysterical." She remarked as she wiped the tears away from her eyes and eyeglasses.

"It wasn't that amusing when Irina told me that."

Sofya snickered and sipped her milk. As she did so, her mother came into view. She pressed her lips together and tried to suppress her giggles.

"Hi, mom." She greeted and finished her sandwich.

Irina didn't seem to hear her since she headed straight towards the French doors.

"Mom?" Sofya called out again. When her mother didn't respond and instead went out, she looked at Sark worriedly and then took after her.

The grass tickled her bare feet as she ran towards her mother's figure, "Hey, mom. Where are you going?" she asked and smiled at her. She placed a hand on Irina's shoulder before going in front of her to block the way.

"They're looking for you, I need to hide you." A dazed expression is very apparent on her face, "I need to hide you." She repeated.

A soft breeze blew the brown hair to their faces, "Mom, we need to get back inside the house." Sofya replied. Is her mother sleepwalking? The only time she did that was when she took sleeping pills after a very horrible plane ride.

Irina shook her head, "If they find out that it's you, they'll take you away." She cupped her daughter's face, "I promised that I'll protect you. I already failed once. I'm not going to fail again." The stars illuminating the skies clearly showed the tears in her mother's eyes.

"Mom…" Sofya trailed off as she touched her mother's hands. What is she talking about? Getting a little bit desperate, she looked towards Sark's direction. She will not be able to shake this woman awake. What is she going to do?

And then she saw Jack Bristow coming out, as if going to her rescue. He must have followed her mother out of the room.

"Irina?" he said her name gently and stood beside his daughter, "We need to get in."

She shook her head, "Iya…"

"Mom, we could talk about this tomorrow." Sofya answered, "Mom, I'll be safe… uh, Jack will take care of me?" she weakly suggested.

Jack, though very surprised with Sofya's words, agreed, "We still have tomorrow, Irina."

Minutes ticked by and they finally were able to coax Irina to come inside with them. It took a lot of patience from Sofya since she has never experienced having an argument with a stubborn sleepwalker. She's quite amazed at how Jack Bristow handled it, though. He was very smooth, as if it was the most normal thing in the world—arguing with a sleepwalker that is.

"Thank you for all the help, Julian." She hissed as she passed him by the doorway.

"You did a good job, actually." Sark answered, looking at Jack and Irina walking back to them.

"Good job? I was going to wrap my hands around her neck if she hadn't said yes!" she answered and drank the remaining milk in the glass. Sark had cleaned up their mess. "Go back to bed." She growled.

"Yes, ma'am." He smirked. As he left, Sofya placed the glass in the dishwasher before washing her hands.

Seconds later, she was following Jack and her mother up the stairs.

"Uh, could you please check if she… took sleeping pills?" she cordially asked.

"And how would I know that?"

Sofya ran her fingers through her hair, "A few days ago, the bottle was full. If she was taking them by twos, it would be half-empty by now." She had seen the bottle on her birthday when she was looking for painkillers. It was also apparent that it was her second bottle.

Jack didn't say anything and Irina seemed to have fallen asleep as they walked towards their rooms.

Sofya was going to push her door open when a thought popped in her head. If her mother had ingested sleeping pills before, what had kept her from going out of the bedroom and having night adventures?

She looked at Jack, "Uh, if it is not too much of a chore for you, could you please, uh, hold her hand while she sleeps? It might make her feel a little… comfort." She suddenly said.

He stoically looked at her before nodding.

"Uhm, okay, then. Good night."

-x-x-x-

"_Syd, Chase is going to give you three days. If none of you reports to Sloane, she'll send in agents for your mother."_

Vaughn's voice reverberated in her head as she looked for her shoes. He had called her at 4 AM to alert of her their situation. This is something that has to be discussed thoroughly with her mother and her twin siblings—especially with her twin siblings. They will not compromise their location, nor will they give up their freedom that easily.

She went out of the bedroom and found Nadia closing the door to hers.

"Hey." Sydney greeted and smiled at her sister.

"Hey." Nadia greeted back, "Did Vaughn call you about…?"

"Yeah. Did Weiss…?" she replied as they walked towards the stairs.

"Yes." Nadia looked at her, "We are so in trouble, aren't we?"

A grim expression appeared on Sydney's face. She doesn't know how everything will go about, especially if Nathan and Sofya decide to make things very violent.

"Most probably."

-x-x-x-

"Do you think they'll agree to turn themselves in?" Sydney asked Jack. Her mother and her twin siblings are in the library, talking (or shouting at each other—it really depends on whose point of view you're taking) and they have been there for almost thirty minutes.

"I don't know." Jack answered truthfully.

"_Bloody hell, Mama! Can't you see it's a trap!"_

Sydney can't help but to take in a deep breath after hearing Nathan's voice. She looked at Nadia, who is standing by the window, watching the panoramic view outside. Glancing at her father, she noticed that he's staring at the clock by the mantle.

It seems to her that everyone is waiting for the outcome of Irina, Nathan and Sofya's conversation.

They could hear Sofya shouting at both her mother and brother when Martin and Maria entered the living room.

"Hi." Sydney smiled at them, "What are those?" she asked when she noticed that they were carrying several boxes in their arms.

"Photo albums," Martin answered, smiling back at her, "They are mostly the pictures of the twins and your cousins but we found several albums that you might find interesting."

"Pictures?" Nadia repeated and walked to where Sydney was sitting, "I've always wondered what Nate and Iya looked like when they were little."

"Oh, they were cute." Maria answered, "They were scary when they threw temper tantrums. Nonetheless, they were cute kids."

Nadia smiled as Martin handed her one of the albums.

"If you see them quite livid later and looked like they'll summon Satan here on earth, just remember these pictures." He jokingly said and deposited the rest of the boxes contents by Jack's feet. "If you want to see more, just tell us." He winked at the girls and left the room with Maria.

"I think there's something going on between those two." Nadia whispered and opened the album given to her, "Oh, look at this." She said and showed to her sister the picture of eight-year old Nathan and Sofya standing by the stairs and wearing a very preppy school uniform. Excitement was beaming in their eyes.

Jack watched his two daughters oohed and aahed over the photos before letting curiosity take over him. He took the thickest one by his feet and opened it.

He froze.

'_A beautiful daughter. I have a beautiful daughter.' He thought as he watched the tiny bundle in his arms. _

"_Mr. Bristow," he looked up and saw his wife looking at him. He smiled at her and gave her a light kiss._

"_She's perfect." He murmured, "Just like you."_

_Irina smiled and caressed the baby's cheek, "I also have to thank her father for that."_

Memories deluged him. The first page of the photo album was taken a few days after Sydney was born. Irina loved the snapshot of the three of them where he was holding their eldest daughter.

Jack turned the page. The sleeping figure of Nadia as a baby was the first thing he saw. This is the first time he saw this photograph again for fifteen years. When he took Irina and Nadia away from Russia and the KGB, this was one of the few things she took with her.

Page after page were memories being re-discovered. He blocked out Nadia and Sydney's voices and the voices of Irina and the twins from the supposedly sound-proof library and just tried to remember.

A soft smile appeared on his face.

"Dad?"

Jack tore his eyes away from the photo album. It surprised him, after a quick glance at the clock on the mantle, that an hour and a half has almost passed.

"Mom wants to talk to you."

-x-x-x-

Arvin Sloane waited for his agents to sit down on the chairs before he started with his briefing.

"A few hours ago, Irina Derevko called Director Chase's office to inform her that she, Mikhail Premenov, Julian Sark and Alexia Vadison will be surrendering to the CIA."

Dixon looked at him, "They must have something to offer. I don't think they're going to turn themselves in just like that."

Sloane leaned back on his chair, "Premenov and Vadison has revealed that they made back-up copies of all the databases they destroyed. I do not know what kind of deal they made with Chase."

"What about Derevko?" Vaughn asked after a few minutes.

Sloane shook his head, "The deal Derevko proposed fell in the classified information category."

"What about Sark?" Weiss said.

"Sark was a prisoner in the Derevko property. The deal he had before he was taken by Premenov stays."

The three agents looked at each other. The three remaining members of the Derevko-Bristow family are coming to the CIA. What will happen now?

"They will be arriving with Jack, Sydney and Nadia tomorrow at 0800 hours. As for now, we're on standby for anything," Sloane stood up and started to leave the room, but before he went out, he gave Dixon a long, hard stare.

-x-x-x-

"_Everything is going as planned, sir."_

"When will they arrive?"

"_It hasn't been disclosed yet, but I'll report to you as soon as they do."_

"Just tell me when we will be able to take the girls. That is the news Mr. Deretoskiev is eagerly awaiting for."

"_You'll know as soon as possible."_

"Good. Don't get caught."


	42. forty

**CHAPTER FORTY**

Tension-filled silence clung to the interiors of the plane, suffocating its passengers and ominously reminding them of the unknown ahead.

'What's going to happen to us the moment we arrive in LA?' Nadia asked herself as she looked around her. Nathan was sitting on the row adjacent to hers, busy playing a handheld game. Sofya, who was seated beside him, was asleep. Their mother was in front of them, staring out the window. Nadia knew that it had been hard for them to come to this decision. She wondered what had convinced the twins to turn themselves in. After all, they had both seemed convinced that this was a trap.

She glanced at Sydney. She was reading a very thick paperback version of the fifth 'Harry Potter' and she seemed very engrossed with it. Their father was also reading something. Nadia was quite sure it was non-fiction since it was enclosed in a folder.

Nadia looked at her watch and sighed. They had six more hours until they reached LA.

She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again, they'd already have landed.

Jack strode through the halls of APO, his shoulders set and his face bearing the most stoic of expressions. Nobody dared to speak as he went past their tables.

He barged inside Sloane's office. The man was seated behind his desk, drinking coffee and signing papers.

"I see that you've already arrived." He said calmly and looked up. The doors automatically closed behind his guest.

Jack clenched his fist, "What do you want from my children, Arvin?"

"Now, what made you say that?" He asked, slightly bemused.

"You saw Sofya leave the hospital. You knew that I would track her down." The anger was barely masked and Sloane knew that he was treading in dangerous waters.

"Yes, I did see Sofya leave hospital. Yes I did know that you would track her down. I did not, however, tell anyone where you were."

Jack stared at him, as if willing him to die on the spot he was sitting on.

Sloane sighed, "I do not want anything from your twins, Jack. If I had my way, I'd leave them be."

"And yet they somehow ended up here."

"We are the masters of our own fates, Jack. Irina and the twins would not turn themselves in without a plan. You know that."

Jack glared at him, but he knew that Sloane was right, "If anything happens to them, I will personally put a bullet in your head."

Sloane just looked at him. Jack seemed like he wanted to kill him with his bare hands.

Suddenly, the phone rang. He picked it up immediately.

"Hello?" he greeted, "Yes, I'll be there."

He placed the phone back into its cradle, "That was Chase." He informed him and stood up, "She wants me to go to her office."

"And what do you want me to do? Go with you?" Jack asked, sardonically.

"I want you to do nothing Jack, It's up to you." Sloane answered and took his coat. "It has always been your decision, Jack." He said and walked out of his office.

Hayden Chase looked impassively at the three people seated in front of her. The older woman, who had such beauty it could even mesmerize the blind, was looking at her with an amused and yet predatory twinkle in her eyes. Irina Derevko exuded both serenity and danger to the point that it was fascinating to just look at her.

Seated beside Derevko was Alexia Vadison. Chase was amazed that she looked nothing like she did the first time she met her. She had black hair, then, and a bandage over her right cheek. She also didn't wear glasses. However, the calmness that Chase thought absurd due to her then-situation was still there. A perturbing stare shone out of her hazel eyes as she waited.

The last of the three was Mikhail Premenov. She had to admit that despite the long scar on his face, Premenov was a very handsome young man. He had an air of confidence and charisma that pulled people in and made them susceptible to his control. He was sitting casually on the chair, quite relaxed, but alert for anything.

In strange truth, Chase thought, the three walk-ins had an almost similar bearing.

"To start off, I don't trust any of you." Chase began, "Especially you." She said, looking at Derevko.

She looked at her, "The feeling is mutual, Director Chase."

Premenov scoffed at Chase, "Is that the way to treat the person whom some of your senators bought for information about Rambaldi?" he said, "I mean, six months of pure torture and that's what you greet her with?"

"I am sorry if I am not inclined to believe the word of three terrorists." She replied in a very distasteful tone.

Premenov sighed, amused, and produced a thick folder.

"I guess you want proof?"

He slid the folder on the table, "Open it and find out where some of your taxes go for vacation."

Chase looked at the documents and found paper trails of some of their most respected senators dealings with the shadiest characters from the terrorist world. And all for a man named Milo Rambaldi.

"This is-" she was cut off by Vadison.

"Preposterous? Crazy? Maybe a forgery? Frankly Director Chase, we're not that good in forgery—well, with the exception of fake checks, that is. Those merry band of senators call themselves, 'The Trust', an ugly name if you ask me, but a dangerous threat embedded in your government." Alexia Vadison sighed, "But then again, the CIA can also be considered a dangerous threat, so…"

Chase glared at the girl, "Even if this is true, it still wouldn't help you in court that you've destroyed not only American databases but also British and Russian intelligence and Interpol."

"Uh, isn't that why we're here in the first place?" Vadison asked, bemused.

"Even so, Mikhail Premenov killed eight CIA agents-"

"Don't you mean eight double agents? I believed they worked for Olivia Reed. I did leave three of them alive for you to interrogate, am I right?" Premenov asked.

Chase continued, "You aided Irina Derevko, who killed twelve CIA agents and betrayed this country-"

Premenov interrupted her again, "She didn't kill them. And nor did she betray this country. For one thing, she's not an American citizen."

"What do you mean she didn't kill them?" Chase asked. She was taken aback, but she did a good job with hiding it. She looked at Derevko, who hadn't spoken a word since she informed her that she also doesn't trust her.

"Eleven of them are still alive, I think. William Vaughn, however, is dead as a doornail. But only after fourteen years after his supposed death." Vadison answered.

Chase looked at the two young people in front of her. She couldn't understand why they are so loyal to this woman with all that she had done.

"Why are you protecting her?" Chase exclaimed.

Vadison and Premenov looked at each other.

"Uh, because she's our mother?" Premenov answered. He almost burst out laughing when he saw the change of expression on Chase's face.

She gaped at them as she couldn't believe what she has just heard. How could she have not foreseen this?

"You look like you don't believe us." Vadison asked, "Is it that hard to accept?"

Chase coolly gazed at her, "And may I ask who your fathers are?"

"Uh, for the record, we're twins." She said, motioning to Premenov, "And why is that relevant?"

"Twins?" Chase looked at them and scoffed, "I highly doubt it."

Vadison and Premenov looked at each other again before looking at Derevko. It was like they were taking their cue from her all this time.

"Are we talking about the parameters of the agreement we made through the phone or the identity of the father of my children?" Irina asked, "Telling you who he is will not change anything."

Chase stood up from the chair, "Excuse me." She said and walked out of the interrogation room. She then headed straight towards the viewing room.

"Arvin," she said and found herself surprised to see Jack Bristow with him, "And Jack." She closed the door behind her before crossing her arms across her chest.

Both men looked at her with a blank expression on their faces.

"I'm assuming that since both of you had a known history with Irina Derevko, you knew of this… children?"

Sloane took a quick glance at Jack, "I am as surprised as you, Director Chase."

She looked at Jack.

"The boy is three hours older than his twin sister, but other than that, they have the same date of birth, the same place of birth, the same mother, and the same father. And as far as my memory goes, they died fifteen years ago in a hotel explosion in Berlin."

The stare she gave him was the same as the one she gave the three people in the interrogation room.

"You are their father?"

Jack nodded his head. He must admit that he was quite pleased with the way Sofya and Nathan are handling Chase.

"It's a complicated affair." He said, rather dryly.

Chase looked at the one-way mirror. The Derevko's were talking quietly, although from what she could see, the young girl was the most amused of the three.

"And what are their real names?" Chase asked.

"That's something that you'll have to ask them." Jack answered.

She left the two men and went back to the interrogation room.

A few hours later, Chase handed them pens to sign their CIA agreement.

"Any form of violation in the agreement will mean automatic cancellation. You will be sent to a maximum security prison to serve out the rest of your sentence. This will also hold true if you refuse to do something stipulated in this agreement." Chase stated as they read the piece of paper.

Vadison, who 'introduced' herself as Sofya Alexa, signed first.

"The three of you will be placed in different safe houses. There will be agents assigned to you 24/7. If by any chance, you try to escape, they have been ordered to shoot you—no questions asked."

"Cool." Premenov, whose real name was Nathan Mikhail, remarked after he signed the agreement.

Chase waited for Irina to sign the paper before continuing, "The time frame of the deal has already started. Ms. Vadison and Mr. Premenov," she looked at them and used their alias so that no one would be confused, "… the computer technicians are waiting for you. Ms. Derevko, I want you to write a statement for the reopening of the CIA investigation."

"Before that, may I talk to Jack Bristow first?" Irina asked.

"If he wants to." Chase answered and collected the papers. She was walking out the door when Sofya asked,

"Uh, can we have something to eat too?"


	43. forty one

**CHAPTER FORTY-ONE**

(Paris, France)

Olivia Reed leaned on the chair, and watched the people pass her by. The beauty of the city hadn't waned even after all these years. She used to come here, with her daughter. And now, since she was gone, she came here alone.

She lifted the cup to her lips and relished the rich taste of the coffee.

"Olivia, it's nice to see you again."

She smiled widely and took her sunglasses off. "McKenas, you look… wonderful."

Mckenas Cole leaned towards her and gave her a peck on the cheek, "I hope the city isn't making you feel out of sorts. I know this is your favorite vacation spot with your daughter." He said and took the seat next to her.

"No, thankfully, its not. It just reminds me of the happy times I had with Lauren." Even if it her decisions didn't look like it, she loved her daughter and her daughter's father very much. The lapse of judgment in her part, unfortunately, killed them.

A cell phone rang. She knows that it isn't hers.

"Yeah, it's me."

Olivia took a bite from her Belgian waffle and watched Cole's facial expressions. He seemed elated.

"Thank you, man. Good job." He returned his cell phone back to his pocket and turned to face her, "Good news. We have addresses of the three safe houses."

(A few days later)

"This is a bit surreal for me. We're having lunch together." Nadia remarked as she, Sydney and Jack sat down near the terrace doors of the restaurant.

"It's a nice break from our busy schedules," Sydney added, "Right, Dad?"

Jack nodded his head and both his daughters smiled at him. It took him all night to formulate the right words for inviting both Sydney and Nadia for lunch. He felt really relieved when they both accepted.

"Do you think it will be alright with Chase if we ask her to allow us to have brunch with Mom and the twins during the weekend?" Sydney asked as she looked at the menu.

"Ask her after the twins finish with the restructuring of the databases." Jack replied.

A few minutes later, a waiter approached their table and took their orders.

"Dad is there something wrong with Mom?" Sydney suddenly asked when the waiter went away.

Jack, who was quite surprised that she noticed, shrugged, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. She seems a little… off."

He looked at Nadia, who agreed with her, "She seems worst here than in Sussex."

"Maybe she's adjusting to the environment." Jack suggested and then tried to explain, "She was kept prisoner for six months and there were… effects on her. She's not exactly open about it so nobody knows the extent of the trauma."

"Doesn't she want to see a doctor?" Sydney asked.

"I don't think a doctor could help." Her father answered.

Nadia sighed, "She hates doctors, doesn't she? Well, except for Aunt Lena, of course."

"Psychologist and psychiatrist are on top of the most hated list." Jack let the amusement slip in his voice. Irina hated Dr. Barnette, "Why don't you talk to her about it?"

His second daughter shook her head, "She doesn't want to talk about herself."

"She just listens to us talk." Sydney added.

Irina wanted to get to know her two daughters better. That's a fact Jack knew. He also knew that she would wait for hell to freeze over before she asked someone to help her.

"Just talk to her. She'll talk about it sooner or later."

Nadia angled her head and studied her father's face, "Don't you want to talk to her?"

Jack took the glass of water and drank it before answering, "Most of our conversations end up as arguments."

She looked at Sydney, who took it as a cue to ask her question.

"Dad, have you visited Mom, Iya or Nate?"

Their father shook his head. Jack didn't mind his daughters' questions. They had been peppering him with these kinds of query ever since they got back in LA. He knew that it's no use to run away from it since it would not get him anywhere.

"No, not yet."

Both Sydney and Nadia didn't see any reason to why he still hadn't visited them yet. The agents assigned to guard their three relatives were all from APO and the three safe houses were all in LA.

"Maybe I'll just visit them next week?" the tone of Jack's voice suggested that he might not intend to do what he just said and Sydney knew that there was a great possibility that he would forget that he ever said that sentence.

The waiter approached them again, this time with the food that they ordered.

"Syd and I will visit later. Do you want to come with us?" Nadia asked. Sydney looked sharply at her, knowing fully well that what she just said was a lie.

Jack looked at Nadia, "Uh, I'll check if I don't have much work."

Nadia smiled brightly at him, "Okay."

Sofya chewed the end of the straw and sipped the soda as she stared at the laptop monitor. She was waiting for the system to log her out. She had just finished rebuilding the CIA database— it's the first the four databases she's finished.

She took the two remaining French Fries and put it in her mouth. If the agents kept on feeding her junk food, she'd die soon.

'But who's complaining?' she thought and sipped the soda again.

An instant messaging window suddenly popped on screen.

**dmn:** are you finished?

Sofya smiled and typed in her reply.

**sad:** Almost. You?

**dmn:** all done :p hehehe

She couldn't help but shake her head. Nathan was very competitive when it came to these kinds of things. Actually, he was obsessed with being the fastest and stealthiest when it came to hacking computers. It's more of his deranged hobby.

A message then appeared telling her that she had logged out of the CIA system.

**sad:** Gtg. I need to call up that Flinkman dude.

**dmn:** k. tc :)

**sad: **You too :D

Sofya stood up and went towards the latter part of the safe house. She saw one of the agents sitting by the back door, solving a crossword puzzle. His blue-collar shirt was a bit wrinkly but he didn't seem to notice.

"Agent Richardson." She said pleasantly but without a trace of a smile in her face, "The CIA database is done. You can call up Mr. Flinkman."

Agent Carl Richardson looked up from the puzzle, "What is a six letter word for a porous volcanic rock?"

"Uh, I don't know," Sofya shrugged, "Um, try pumice." She suggested after a few seconds.

The agent briefly looked at the crossword. A grin made his way up to his face a few seconds later.

"Thanks." He wrote the word first before taking his phone from the pocket. He pressed the speed dial, "Yeah, Agent Richardson, delta 10 alpha 04 to a Marshall Flinkman… Yes… all ready… thanks."

The agent ended the call and then placed his cell phone back to his pocket, "You want to eat something? I can order for you."

Sofya smiled slightly, "No, thank you." She said and went back to where she was working. She rebooted the computer so that she could start working on the second data server.

She sighed. It took them almost four days to finish one, and yet it took only three hours to destroy six.

'Why is it easier to destroy things than to create them?'

The gentle pounding of the shower somehow soothed her headache. Irina rubbed her temples and savored the warmth of the water.

She forced this decision unto Nathan and Sofya. It was not because it was "right" or it was "time". She forced it upon them because she knew that the CIA would be able to protect them when her former captors realize that the Decoder– or The Key as she had read in Rambaldi's manuscripts— was not a thing, but a person.

They made a mistake in the translation thus resulting to the belief that the Key was a non-living thing. The moment they discover their mistake, they would immediately know that it was Sofya.

Irina turned off the shower and reached out for the towel in the rack. They could outrun the CIA and her former captors, but if they use the CIA to hide themselves, the probability of getting aid when they get hurt was greater than having no 'allies'.

'Let's not depend on them that much.' Irina said to herself as she dried herself. She wrapped the towel on her head before dressing up.

She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, wearing a black tank top, black casual linen pants and a pair of rubber slippers

The rooms were quiet and quite dark. She had become accustomed to this after three days—the agents seemed to be intimidated of her.

'Now, what have I done to make them feel that way?' she wryly thought and silently walked across the hall to get to the kitchen. The agents always left her meals there.

The kitchen was barely lit but Irina could clearly make out a figure sitting on one of the chairs.

She flicked on the lights and leaned on the doorway, "What are you doing here?" she asked and looked at him. His suit was slightly creased, his tie loosened, but his uptight demeanor was still there.

Jack looked back at her. Her sinewy form was very apparent in her outfit—it reminded him of the time she was being held in the glass cage.

"I brought you dinner." He replied and showed her a paper bag.

Though secretly pleased at what he did, she raised a brow, "That is so _kind_ of you." Irina remarked and walked towards him, "You could have just left it with the agents."

"I already left Nathan and Sofya's dinner to the agents in their respective safe houses."

She gave a small laugh, "As I've said before, they don't bite. The most horrible thing that they can do when they see you is throw their computer at you. I doubt its going to happen." Jack took out her dinner from the bag and handed it to Irina.

"Thank you." She said and opened it. The tasty aroma of the chicken and the java rice wafted in her nose. She took the spoon and then glanced at Jack, "Have you eaten?" she asked before taking her first bite.

"Yes, I have." Jack answered, lying.

He watched her wordlessly as she began to eat. He could clearly see the still-raw wounds in her wrists, "Don't you think that, those wounds are healing too slowly?"

Irina glanced at him and found that he's talking about her wrists. She looked at it and elegantly shrugged her shoulders.

"When I was being kept prisoner, they injected me with something that would make the wounds I obtained from the day heal in less than twenty-four hours. The wounds healed so fast that it was so abnormal. I am not surprised that this wound is taking up months to fully regenerate." She averted her eyes from him and took another bite from the chicken.

The cuts in her wrists were a reminder of her imprisonment, a witness to the abuse. Every time she looked at it, waves of nausea and distress pass her. She didn't want to admit it, but she was having a hard time re-adjusting to her life. It was hard to pretend that everything was alright when everyone she was familiar with were around her, but the façade was harder to keep up when she knew that she was being watched twenty-four hours, everyday.

Half an hour later, the container of her dinner was in the trash and the two of them were staring at each other. They both have something to say, but they couldnt bring themselves to formulate words.

"I better go." Jack said after looking at his watch. He stood up and looked at Irina.

She looked at him, "Thank you for the dinner." She too, stood up. She opened her mouth and closed it again. _Thank you for the company_ was what she wanted to say, but she found herself stopping. If she said that, there is a great possibility that Jack will not show himself to her again.

"You're welcome."

She watched him leave. A very little part of her was hoping that the next time he dropped by it would be because he wanted to see her.

"You have a very interesting proposition, Mr. Deretoskiev."

The steel-haired man with piercing black eyes and sharp cheekbones looked at the person to his left. He had been in the espionage business for almost forty years and he had never seen and heard so much open clamoring for Rambaldi's work from a twenty-something-year old boy.

"My propositions are always interesting." He answered and smiled, revealing a set of perfect white dentures.

He was an excellent twenty-eight year old KGB field agent when he first encountered Milo Rambaldi. He had romanced and bedded many beautiful and exotic women but the essence and the meaning that he had been looking for from all the relationships were never sated—until researching about Rambaldi came. Lovemaking and reading the seer's works seemed to be activities that were worlds apart, but the ecstasy that came with sex seemed to be the same when reading Rambaldi's manuscripts. It was the moment that he realized his calling.

"How can we be sure that your proposition will work?" the young man asked again.

Leo Deretoskiev looked at him. 'The boy is representing the Shining Sword.' He thought. The Shining Sword - a Filipino terrorist group - was an exemplar model in nepotism. The eager, fine-looking boy was the youngest son of the head of the organization and apparently, the most ready to learn about the fifteenth century seer.

"You are a very excited young man." He said with a low timbre, "It is a trait that is both an asset and a liability in this world."

The boy's forehead knotted in confusion. How was this comment related to what they're talking about?

"The men you are with have already controlled this impulse. Learn from them." He then continued on with their subject,

"We have discovered a formula that will enable us to do more on Rambaldi's manuscripts and be a step closer to the coveted fountain of youth. However, the formula will only work if we have in our custody two individuals who can harness its effect."

"And you are suggesting?" the head of the Third Faction asked.

"I only have a few good men and taking these two individuals will mean sacrificing these few good men."

"You need people who can kidnap these _individuals_ without getting themselves killed?" the head of the October Faction asked.

"No, I need your people to distract their protectors." He looked at the head of the CRF, one of their oldest and trusted partners.

"How many do you need?" he asked.

Leo Deretoskiev leaned back on his chair, "Sixty men, with their own ammunition and transportation, at the very least. There will be a lot of casualties, that I must say, but I also lost a great deal of my men from my first attempt to get these two individuals."

"What makes you think that this second attempt will not fail?" the head of the October Faction asked.

He smiled at the man who asked him the question. He's quite proud of the fact that he had predicted the action the Derevkos and the Bristows would take, since they have been very erratic with the patterns of their decision-making in the past.

"They fell for my trap."


	44. forty two

**CHAPTER FORTY-TWO**

(Saturday, breakfast)

"How did you come up with this idea?" her mother asked as she began to help her unpack the groceries she had brought.

"Which one?" she took the eggs from the paper bag and smiled at her mother, "The breakfast with Sydney, lunch with Dad and dinner with Nadia part of the idea or me bringing the groceries?"

Irina smiled back at her, "Why not both?"

"Nadia came up with the first one from Dad's off-handed comments. I just came up with the groceries after that."

A twinkle of amusement flashed in Irina's eyes. _Jack's off-handed comments?_ "So where are your father and sister right now?"

"Dad's with Nate and Nadia's with Iya." Sydney closed the refrigerator door, "We'll rotate at lunch and then once again at dinner."

Irina didn't say anything. How will Nathan and Sofya interact with Jack? She hopes that everything will be at least a little better than the interaction back in Sussex.

"What do you want to eat for breakfast?" Sydney asked.

"What do you want?"

"Uh, are pancakes okay with you?" she asked, looking at the box she's holding, "It's not homemade, and…"

Irina smiled at her, "Pancakes sounds good."

**Meanwhile…**

Nathan stared at the man, who is holding a two, big, brown paper bags, as he stood by his bedroom doorway. He had just woken up, just came from the shower, and this is what's waiting for him?

"What are you doing here?" he asked and crossed his arms across his chest. He eyed him suspiciously and waited.

"Breakfast." Jack answered neutrally, "And some groceries."

"You could have just left them in the kitchen. I'd manage fine."

Jack almost felt awkward standing in front of his son. This is something that he cannot handle easily. He finds it hard to reach out to people.

"Then that would defeat the purpose of visiting." He answered and crossed the living room and towards the kitchen.

"Who says I needed any visiting?" Nathan retorted, raising a brow. He then followed him to the kitchen as he cannot deny that his stomach is grumbling.

Jack glanced at him, "If you don't want any one to visit you, go talk to your sisters." He said and placed the paper bag on the table.

Nathan coolly stared at him, "Fine, then. I'll talk to them."

Both father and son glared at each other. To tell the truth, Nathan doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know this man, nor can he contradict the truth that this man is his father. There are moments when he desperately searches his memory of his times with him. Though he can easily say that there are none, the photographs he saw back home told him otherwise.

"You said you brought breakfast." Nathan said, after a few minutes of staring at each other.

Jack nodded his head, "I did."

"Have you eaten?" his son asked and took a step forward.

"I don't really eat breakfast." Jack replied and looked at him. His son angled his head, an action that suddenly reminded him of Irina.

"And so the point of this visit is to watch me eat?" Nathan wryly asked before walking towards the table. He peered inside one of the paper bags and found that the breakfast was good for two people, "I don't really have an appetite like Iya for you to bring breakfast for two people."

He looked at Jack again before sitting down and taking one of the containers, "I hope you don't mind if I start eating." He said, rather formally since he knew that Jack will get the other container and eat with him.

Jack couldn't help but feel mystified at the change in his son's demeanor. He was quite antagonistic a while ago, but he suddenly piped down and became harmlessly sarcastic.

'Are all teenagers like that?' he thought and sat down across Nathan. He took the container his son left in the paper bag and began to eat his breakfast.

**On the other hand…**

"Do you want to know the future?" Sofya asked Nadia as she dipped the bread in the bowl of milk.

Nadia glanced at her sister and gave her weird look, "What a question to start the day." She remarked. Her comment elicited a grin from Sofya.

"You gave me cards. I don't want to play poker with you, nor do I want to play go-fish. I'll just read the cards and tell you your future."

Nadia smiled, "For the record, Weiss gave you those cards-"

"You mean your boyfriend?" Sofya interjected. Nadia's cheeks suddenly became tinged with pink.

"No, not yet. Anyway, is it even possible to know the future from those cards?"' she asked and readied to heat the pan.

"Well, Deia taught me how. Its like reading tarot cards, except that they have different images." Sofya explained, "Like, for example, I read a while ago, that there will be a big fire somewhere."

Nadia let out an amused sound, "Can it be a bit specific?"

Her sister shrugged, "I was the one who drew the cards so maybe it'll be here."

"Don't say that." Nadia said and then shook her head in skepticism, "I doubt there's going to be fire anywhere."

"Maybe." Sofya answered. She glanced at her sister, and smiled to herself. She's really glad when someone comes over to visit. She doesn't know why the CIA wanted them to be placed in separate safe houses. It's not like they're going to overpower every agent assigned to watch them and escape.

A snicker escaped her lips. Maybe they can **do** that if they're together.

Nadia looked at her, and Sofya smiled as she lifted the plate which contains the 'French toast'.

"I'm glad you're here. I don't really have anyone to talk to." She said.

Nadia was going to reply when, suddenly, flames began to shoot out of the pan. Both of them shrieked and let go of what they're holding.

"What did you do!?" Nadia exclaimed.

"I didn't do anything!" her sister answered then added, "I dropped our breakfast."

"I dropped the pan."

When they regained their wits a few minutes later, both Nadia and Sofya looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.

"We'd better ask one of the agents to buy breakfast for us." Nadia said, in between the giggles.

"Please not French toast."

"Not French toast, got it." She replied and looked at her sister. Her face is quite red, "Are you okay?"

Sofya laughed out loud again, "Yeah, I'm okay. You?"

"I'm alright."

Minutes passed and they were seated in the living room, waiting for their breakfast to come. The pan that got licked by the flames is now sitting on the sink, waiting to be washed. The floor with the bread and milk was cleaned, no longer 'eating' the breakfast that was supposed to be theirs.

Sofya took out the cards from the sofa,

"So, do you want to know your future?"

(Lunch)

Sitting in silence was the best thing that they have done ever since he came to join her for lunch. It was the best thing because that means, an ugly argument won't rise from any staring-into-space that they do. But then, he has to stay here for the rest of the afternoon. They can't sit in stillness forever.

Irina quietly ate her lasagna. She can live with this kind of deafening silence, but not with Jack's presence. They always manage to communicate with their movements, and she knows that she will have an inkling on what might be running in Jack's head.

"How was your breakfast with Nate?" she asked after a few minutes.

"It was fine." Jack answered, "He was hostile at first but… he slightly dropped his guard after a while."

"Did you talk?"

"No."

Irina pursed her lips and said nothing else. She resumed eating her lunch, sometimes looking up to meet his eyes.

"Don't you get… bored here?" Jack asked unexpectedly. He has finished with his lunch and is waiting for Irina to finish hers.

"Not really. I'm used to it." Irina answered and sipped her orange juice, "I spent six months in a glass cage, and then spent another six months in a dark cell. Boredom is inevitable. Why do you ask?"

Jack shook his head. 'So much for a conversation.' He thought and leaned back on the chair, "Just asking."

"Sometimes, you act just like Nathan."

"Really? I think he acts more like you." Jack remarked, "He acts so much like you."

A soft smile fluttered in her lips, brightening her face, "That's what they always say at first."

Jack couldn't help but smile back at her. The pride that beams through any mother when talking about her children is very apparent in Irina.

"I'll have to see that for myself."

She smiled even wider and then stood up to bring her now-empty plate to the sink, "You'd be surprised."

**And then…**

"I know what you're thinking." Nathan said when he found his sister staring at him as he washed the dishes.

Nadia raised a brow, "What am I thinking about?" she asked and dried the plate he handed.

"I'm boring."

His face was so serious that it made her laugh, "What made you say that?"

"Iya flashes that same look every once in a while." Nathan answered, "_Oh Nate, you are the most boring person ever_." He said, imitating his twin's vocal and facial expression.

Nadia, though amused with her brother's remark, knew that there's something behind the joke.

"What was the longest time you've been separated?" Nadia asked softly.

He shrugged, "Roughly four weeks." That was length of Sofya's first stay with the CIA. "We've basically been together ever since we were conceived, so…"

She chuckled, "That was a nice observation."

This time, he grinned and all traces of his serious self vanished. He dried his hands and handed to his sister the towel, "You know, even though you're completely different from Iya, you still remind me of her."

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?" Nadia joked. His comment took her in surprise.

Her brother's face turned grim again. His ability to change facial expression is so seamless that it reminded her of their father.

"I don't know. She can be so insane sometimes."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem in this family."

Nathan grinned once again, "That's a very good observation."

**At the other safe house…**

Her sister erupted in roaring laughter, "I can't believe it. Nathan falls for the very same trick!"

"You play dirty." Sydney said, complaining slightly, pouting over her toppled house of cards.

"Who plays cleanly anyway?" Sofya replied and took the cards Nadia gave her that morning, "Well, except for Mom. Who plays cleanly?"

"Mom plays cleanly?" Sydney asked. Her incredulity wasn't masked in her voice. Irina Derevko doesn't cheat in games?

"She sticks to the rules when it comes to parlor games."

"Really?"

Sofya nodded her head, "But she's tricky. She can circumvent any rule in the book."

Her sister looked at her disbelievingly before watching her shuffle the cards. She's going to build another house of cards.

"Uh, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how is Mom as a… Mom?"

She glanced at Sydney before starting to stack the cards, "Well, she's more into discipline and school… but Martin said that she's spoils us too much… she used to be gone for weeks and weeks, but the moment that she comes home, she tries to help us with schoolwork. She hated doing those sewing things so she'll pay someone to do it. When we were ten, she spanked us and made us go to sleep without dinner when she learned that Nate and I set the school auditorium on fire."

"You set the school auditorium on fire!?" Sydney exclaimed.

Her sister grinned, "We got tired of the fire drills and make-believe fire. So we decided to make a real one."

"What happened to the school?"

"It lived. Mom pulled us out after a few days, thus leading to being home-schooled for four years. Of course our life of delinquency didn't end there. Nate and I did a little pick-pocketing, the usual hacking… uh, forgery and stuff. Martin and Maria tried to hard to keep us from going to jail and hide it from Mom, but she always knows. She made us return all the money we made illegally and then ground us for months. Then we went to the United States, went to regular high school, became law-abiding citizens and then went to college."

Sydney couldn't believe how normal it sounded when it came from Sofya's mouth. She didn't expect this kind of criminal behavior from anyone so young.

The house of card toppled down when Sofya blew on it. Sighing, she began to collect the cards once again before looking at her sister.

"Do you want to know your future?"

(Dinner)

"This is very good." A beautiful smile blossomed in her daughter's face. It then struck her how much love and affection they have deprived Nadia after everything went wrong. She hopes that it's not too late to repair the damage, "How did you learn to make it?"

"I was always sent to the kitchen to help every time I caused trouble."

Irina smiled and took a bite on the empanada, "And I supposed you get sent there often?"

"More often than you think." Her daughter said with a small laugh, "They didn't know what to do with me."

"And what did you do to be banished to the kitchen?"

"I picked fights with the other children." Nadia answered, "And then there was a time I accidentally set one of the flower beds on fire. I quickly hosed it down but the damage was done."

Irina let out a throaty laugh, "Fire? Your brother and sister almost burned their school when they set fire in the school theater."

Nadia's eyes widened, "Really? Why?"

"They hated fire drills. They decided to make the situation real." Irina answered. Her eyes are brimming with amusement, but she wasn't this amused when she learned about this almost eight years ago, "They were spanked and then were taken out of school."

"Wow." Nadia remarked, "Did the school burn to the ground?"

"Oh, heavens, no." her mother answered, "I wouldn't know what I would have done if it did."

Nadia stared at her and watched her eat the empanada she made. It then occurred in her mind the image of Sydney burning several hated things in the backyard. Also, the story about the infamous toaster has reached her ears.

She burst out in laughter.

"Mama, we're all pyromaniacs."

**We then go to…**

"Do you know why KFC is not called Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore?" Nathan asked as he expertly tossed the Caesar Salad.

"Because the chicken is not from Kentucky?" Sydney answered and began to set the table.

"Technically speaking," He started, "It's because the chickens are now genetically modified organisms. Aside from it not being from Kentucky, it's also not organic chicken anymore."

Sydney glanced at her brother, "And where did you get that?" she asked. She likes the chicken in KFC.

"Internet. And several symposiums." He took the bowl and placed it on the dining table, "All fast food restaurants have GMO's in their menu. If we follow that thought, then, in the future, our descendants will be mutants." He said and gave her a challenging stare. He used to say this to Sofya since she is such a big fan of fast food, but she always asked him to shut up when she's eating.

"The Internet is not a very reliable source of information." Sydney pointed out.

"They have a lot of official medical sites, you know."

His sister raised a brow, "So are you saying that we need to stop eating junk food?"

"As much as possible, yes. It's bad to the health, especially if you're in this kind of business. You don't want to die easily."

Sydney smiled at him, "Well, then, brother. I'll try." She took the paper bag from the counter and then teasingly said, "I guess we mustn't eat this. It's junk food."

Her brother kept a straight face, "So what do you propose we eat, then?"

They stared at each other. It was Sydney who laughed first.

"I was joking. Nadia made this. Its empanada." She enjoyed spending time with her mother and sister. She thought that it wouldn't be as much fun with Nathan because he seemed to react more when Sofya was around. She was wrong.

"Cool." Nathan approached her and looked at the bag, "It smells nice."

"It tastes better."

**Last but not the least**

Tension hung onto them like glue, hardening around them and choking them as the minutes pass. Both had expected this, and both didn't try to make the situation better. They just stared at each other and sewed their mouths shut.

Jack couldn't understand how Sofya could have mastered the art of looking indifferent at such a young age. Even in the safe house, she still manages to avoid him.

"I spoke to your mother a while ago." He started and waited for a reaction.

Sofya impassively looked at him, "Talking about my mother will not actually help in creating a conversation, the same way sharing a meal does not equate into a relationship."

"So I'm going to assume that you prefer being alone rather than being visited?"

"I prefer being alone than have someone forcibly have dinner with me and talk about the weather. And my mother." She replied disdainfully.

Jack raised a brow, before standing up and leaving her in the dining room table.

She didn't know how to react. Firstly, she hates pretentious people—that's one of the first people-traits she hates. Second, she didn't know if she should be amused or be hurt by what her 'father' just did. Perhaps she should be amused. After all, she was the one frustrating him—why should she be hurt with the fact that he was forced to come here?

_Why should she be hurt with the fact that he was forced to come here?_ Her thoughts repeated again and again. The reality that she might not be seeing her mother and brother in months to come began to sink in. She doesn't want him to visit her if all she's going to see is his scowling face.

A frown formed in her lips and a furrow appeared in her brow. Why is this bothering her, anyway? She began to eat her dinner, silently and not expecting someone to check on her.

To her surprise, Jack went back to his seat and finished eating the food on his plate. Sofya looked at him a bit astonished. She didn't assume that he'll come back. He was forced to come and visit her, right?

Her gaze was unwavering as she observed him. She had underestimated his stubbornness. He wasn't forced to come here—he just doesn't know how to interact with familiar strangers.

She sighed and shook her head, "Why do you do it?"

Jack looked up at her, "Do what?"

"Why are you being stubborn?"

"I should be asking you that question."

Sofya shrugged and didn't ask any questions again. It was like talking to Nathan after an argument. How could her brother be so much like this man when they didn't even grow up with him?

Jack clasped his hands together and leaned back forward. He took a deep breath and looked at her directly in the eye.

"I'm sorry about the things that I've done to you when you were in our custody." He started. The brow Sofya raised seemed to be lifting off to space; "I know that you don't like me and I'm not asking you that you do, it's just that…" he trailed off. He can't continue—something is stopping him and he doesn't know what it is.

Sofya stared at him for a while, "I accept your apology." She said after a few minutes. She didn't smile at him but her posture eased slightly.

Jack felt relieved. At least that was a start.


	45. forty three

**CHAPTER FORTY-THREE**

Jack encircled the avenue for the second time before heading to the highway to get to one of the secret entrances to APO. It was one of his security procedures when going to work so that he could be alerted immediately if he was being tailed.

It's been a three weeks since Irina and the twins walked in to CIA custody. Nathan and Sofya had both successfully reconstructed the databases they had destroyed while Irina had fully cooperated with the CIA. He's relieved that they were collaborating with them, but a small part of him still felt the need to know why. What was the motive behind all these help? He doubted that it was because they wanted to change and repent.

An amused sound escaped him as he thought about the absurdity of the idea. Who wanted to change and repent in this kind of occupation, anyway?

In these three weeks, he had gotten to know the twins bit by bit. Their conversations hadn't amounted to an hour, even if he'd been checking on them every day, but it was an improvement from the glares and the indifferent silence they gave him when they first met again after fifteen years.

'I wonder…'

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the SUV speeding into the passenger's side of his Lincoln.

-x-x-x-

Sydney sped through the park, listening to her iPod, as she jogged through the paved road. Her eyes are focused on the road ahead, but her mind is running elsewhere. She has been going to reconnaissance missions ever since her mother and her siblings came in LA. There has been no word yet about the intel that several of their senators are in league with terrorists groups.

Her surroundings were so beautiful that it was hard to believe that the people that they voted for office actually wanted to make it all disappear. In her world, the environment was forever changing, forever ambiguous. There was always a thin line between the truth and the lies, the good and the bad. Each and everyone who lived in this world would always be alone, for they were the only ones who can judge what was right and what was wrong.

A wry smile appeared on her lips. This always happened when she got to talk to Nathan, Sofya and their mother. It always made her think about everything.

'Mental exhaustion, that's what they always get. It's really a wonder how they're still sane.' She thought. Nadia had also been affected with the too-much-thinking syndrome. They were always having debates at home.

It's a ripple effect. That's what it was. Their mother would always have an effect on them, whether be it a smile or a glance. The way she thinks boggled them. It was exciting and yet at the same time tiring.

She could feel her muscles singing, asking her to slow down a bit. Sydney looked at her watch, and decided that she needed to go back home, even if they were expected to be in the office at around ten. Also, Nadia went to the bank and was expecting that they would have breakfast together.

Suddenly, strong arms grabbed her from behind. Her training immediately kicked up in gear and she started to fight back.

The arms were too strong and she wasn't able to do anything else when a cloth covered her face and her world turned into inky darkness.

-x-x-x-

The phones were ringing off the hook. The agents were scrambling everywhere. They didn't know what to do and both the Director and the Assistant Director were nowhere to be found. They were at loss to how to proceed with their current situation.

"Marshall, try to track them down." Vaughn said and headed straight to his desk. Jack hadn't come in yet, and the fact itself was worrying. He's almost two hours late.

As he walked towards his desk, his cell phone rang and he immediately answered.

"_Vaughn, it's me."_

"Syd?" he said.

"_Could you please trace this call? I don't know where I am."_

"What?" Vaughn replied as he could sense the urgency in her voice, "What do you mean you don't know where you are?" the telephone in his desk is also ringing. But that can wait.

"_Somebody took me when I was jogging in the park and left me here."_

Vaughn looked at his watch, "Okay, I'll get Marshall to find where you are in a few minutes. We got a situation and we need people in here. Your father hasn't come in yet. Nor has Sloane."

He then saw Jack walk through the halls of the office, holding his coat in his left hand. Vaughn could see that there was a bandage wrapped in his right hand and gauze covered a good part of his forehead. Obviously, he just came from an accident.

"Syd, I gotta go. The agents will be there in five. I'll explain everything when you get here." He said as he scribbled something on a piece of paper.

"_Thanks."_ He could hear uncertainty in her voice, but he was glad that she trusted her. He placed his cell phone back to his pocket, approached Weiss to give him the paper and then quickly went towards Jack.

"What is the status?" Jack asked gruffly as he saw Vaughn walk towards him.

"Irina and Nathan Derevko are in our facility, both are unconscious. Irina was heavily drugged with sedatives while Nathan was knocked out with mild tranquilizers. Sofya… she was taken in a black van. We're securing all airports, train stations, the piers and all highways out the city."

Jack quickened his pace and went to his office, "Where are Sydney and Nadia?" he inquired when he didn't see them scrambling about.

"Syd just called, she doesn't know where she is and we're tracking her down to get her. Nadia hasn't come in yet."

Alarm bells rang in Jack's head when he heard that Sydney was asking help to know where she was and that Nadia still hadn't reported to work. He looked at Vaughn, "Call her, page her. I want you to find Nadia and bring her here immediately."

"Yes, sir." Vaughn said and straight away took his phone out of his pocket.

"What about Sloane?" he asked when he saw the Director's office empty.

"He's not yet here."

Jack then diverted his direction and went towards the conference room. He could clearly see Marshall and another tech working hard on the surveillance cameras that might have possibly come across the black van.

"Marshall," he said as he entered, "What is your progress?"

Marshall looked at him and though he is both concerned and interested at the fresh wounds of the Assistant Director, the glint in Jack's eyes told him not to pursue it.

"We've seen fifty black vans in the past two hours," he answered, "Uh, we've cleared half of it, I think…" he glanced at the other tech, Jenkins, who nodded his head.

Jack looked at the monitors around the room, "Pull up the surveillance in Sofya's safe house."

Jenkins immediately typed in the command and seconds later, all the videos taken inside and outside the safe house appeared on the screen. Jack took the remote control on the table and began watching.

Sofya woke up at seven AM, took a shower and at exactly seven-thirty, was already in the kitchen eating her breakfast. By eight, she was in the living room, setting up her laptop to virtually work in APO.

'Three weeks in a safe house and she already fell into a routine.' He thought as his eyes focused on the time by the bottom right edge of the screen. His thoughts then drifted back to the accident almost two hours ago. The passenger's side of his Lincoln was completely wrecked—he actually wondered how he had survived the crash with only minor cuts and bruises.

He pressed the fast forward button until the first signs of the intruders/kidnappers appeared. He glanced at the time on the screen: eight twenty-seven AM.

He kept his eye on the screen as he took his cell phone from his pocket. How did his daughter fight back? Actually, the question that he should ask is, was Sofya able to fight back?

"This is Gordon Johnson, from the Department of Transportation. I need the exact time of the accident that happened in highway…" as he listened to the voice to the other line, he watched his daughter defend herself using a fireplace poker. She did a pretty good job with it, hacking and then kicking the intruders.

"Eight twenty-seven? Are you sure? Thank you." The time on all the traffic cameras in LA and that of APO's are the same.

He returned his gaze on the screen. Sofya had rushed out of the house, and stumbled down the steps. He could only watch as his youngest daughter fell down to the pavement and was dragged by one of the men.

"Pull up the surveillance videos on the other safe houses." Jack said flatly.

A few minutes later, he was watching his wife (never did he imagine that he could call her with that name again with such ease) and his son defend themselves from the trespassers.

Eight twenty-seven. That was the key to all these mess. It wasn't the men in black, the color or the mode of transportation. It was the time that they struck—that was the key. Somebody wanted to attack them at the same time, so to prevent APO to help them.

Worry began to cloud his head. Nadia was still unaccounted for and he had a sick feeling that the people who did this were able to take her too.

'Please God, don't complicate things,' he thought and walked out of the conference room.

"DAD!" Sydney ran towards her father. She didn't care if her face looked dirty or her arms and racer top shirt was smudged with soil. Her father looked more horrible than her, "What happened to you? Are you okay?"

"I'm alright," his daughter hugged him fiercely. Part of his worry dissipated immediately, "Are you?"

"I woke up in a dirty warehouse, but I'm fine." She gently pulled back, "Is everyone alright?"

Jack impassively shook his head, "Iya is missing while your mother and your brother are both upstairs, unconscious. Nadia hasn't come in yet."

"How can she be not in yet? She just went to the bank two hours ago…" she trailed off and a horrified expression appeared on her face, "On the way here, all the stations in the radio were talking about this bank robbery…" Sydney rushed to the conference room and flipped one of the screens to the news channel.

…_a daring robbery executed almost two hours ago here in this bank. The thieves got away with almost half a million in cash and took with them a young female hostage, whose identity is still a mystery to all of us…_

Jack glanced at Marshall, "Get the surveillance videos around the bank's perimeter, and inside the building," he ordered and then looked at Sydney, "Call the airport, highway patrol, the coast guard and the train stations. As morbid as this may sound they could have transported Nadia and Sofya in funeral caskets."

"Mr. Bristow, we can't do everything you ask for in the quickest time you want…"

He glared at Jenkins, "You'll get help." He then walked out of the conference room once again and went towards Sloane's office.

He still wasn't there.

Jack saw Weiss round by the corner. The moment the agent saw him, he hurried towards his position, "Bad news." He said, almost out of breath.

"What is it now?"

"They just brought Sloane in the clinic upstairs. He's heavily injured."

-x-x-x-

The fuzzy Technicolor dreams began to disappear slowly. A throbbing headache began to surface and she could feel the land trembling below her.

She groaned and opened her eyes. As she tried to focus her eyes, the memories of what had transpired two hours ago began to come back to her.

She was in the bank, waiting in line when masked men started shooting and shouting about a robbery. She remembered kneeling down and the floor and fearing that she would die without fighting for her life. And then she was taken by those men and was shoved into a van.

'Oh god, where am I?' she suddenly thought. She tried to sit up but found out that she couldn't.

Her wrists and ankles are bound to where she's reclined.

Her heart started to beat faster as she looked around. She could her sister sprawled in the bed next to her, unconscious. An ugly bruise had formed in Sofya's forehead. Did they get Sydney? Nathan? Their mother?

"Iya…" her voice wasn't loud, but it seemed that someone heard her because she heard footsteps coming their way.

A man stood above her and impassively looked at her. Nadia felt afraid. What do they want from them?

"You weren't supposed to wake up until later." He said and took a step back. She heard medical supplies being searched and she knew that she's going to be tranquilized. Obviously, she would not be able to do something about it.

"Don't worry. My employer will take care of both of you." It was the last thing Nadia heard from the man as she slipped back into her Technicolor dreams.

-x-x-x-

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Nathan looked up and glared at his sister, "I'm here, aren't I?" he answered gruffly. He had a busted lip, a black eye and a haggard look. To Sydney, he looked like he needed to be in bed, but the glare that he gave her looked like he still had energy to last two more days.

He hunched his back and started to work on the evaluation of the surveillance videos again.

Sydney sighed. Everyone was worrying, and everyone seemed to be working on something except for her. They didn't seem to need any help and all she was doing was waiting for LAX to call back.

The phone in the conference room rang. Hastily, she picked it up and prayed that the airport had the information they're looking for.

A few minutes later, she was on her way to her father's office. Nadia and Sofya's kidnappers transported them as sick sisters who were in dire need of medical attention.

They were on their way to Switzerland.

-x-x-x-

Jack calmly walked down the hallway of the infirmary of APO, his face grim and his posture stiff. He was alerted by one of the nurses that Irina had woken up after ten hours of sedation. They said she was asking about things that only he could answer.

He didn't know how to tell her that Sofya and Nadia were kidnapped. He didn't know how she would react. They went through Nadia's kidnapping a few years back and Sydney's disappearance almost two years ago. Both of the incidents had bad endings. How could he tell her that this time would be different?

He entered the bare and sterile room and found her sitting upright. She's been expecting him.

"What happened?" she began to ask, "Are Nate and Iya all right?"

Jack formally stood by the edge of the bed, keeping his distance from her, "Sofya was kidnapped and so was Nadia."

As he explained the situation, the expression on Irina's face became that of shock, fear and anger. The bluish bruise by her right cheekbone suddenly became a neon signpost in her pallid face.

"You were injected with a—"

"Have you tracked them down?" she snapped angrily, not letting him finish, "Tell me that the CIA is looking for my daughters."

"We are looking for them, Irina." Jack answered, "We're going to find them as soon as possible."

She brought her hands to her temple and massaged it. Tears were forming around her eyes. She had heard that line before. It never happened.

"I heard that before." She softly said, "We didn't exactly find them in time."

Jack's shoulders slumped a bit and he walked towards her side, "Things are different now."

She took a deep breath and looked at him "Do you need help?"

"We already have people on it, but I guess it wouldn't hurt if you join." He answered. Irina's action would be the same, whether he said yes or no, "You have to stay here overnight for observation, though."

"I'll start tomorrow then?" she asked blankly and wrapped her hands around her arms. She gazed at him, and tried to look for something—a reassurance that everything would turn out fine.

She saw it for a quick second and it quickly vanished behind the unreadable depths of his brown eyes.

"Tomorrow." Jack repeated. He looked at her. He wanted to sit down next to her and tell her once more that everything would be alright but he knew that he wouldn't be able to convey it convincingly. A part of him knew that they failed twice—they could fail again.

"Get some rest."

He then turned away and left the room without saying a good-bye.


	46. forty four

**CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR**

The imposing figure of Irina Derevko pacing in the conference room seemed to mesmerize the agents working around its perimeter. The glass walls are promoting voyeuristic tendencies and they can't help but glance at the woman's direction once in a while.

They can see the similarities she has with Nadia and Sydney and it's really a wonder how she came to have a dangerous aura. The similarities they have are the ones that make people gravitate towards them.

"I found him and I found his Interpol file." Marshall said and showed his findings onscreen, Sydney had spotted this man in one of airport surveillance cameras. "Ignatius Radetskii. A German-born Russian. He was responsible for the disappearance and death of the five ambassadors from France, Great Britain, Italy, Turkey and Qatar." He glanced at Irina and Nathan, "You know that, right?"

Irina crossed her arms in front of her chest and stared at the monitors, "He worked for me a couple of times," she said, "Any current affiliations?" she asked since the screen only displays the international laws Ignatius Radetskii violated.

"The CRF is the most probable affiliate. The current crimes he had committed jives with the crimes the CRF proclaimed as theirs," Marshall answered, "Uh, maybe I'll cross-reference him or something…"

"You do that." She looked at her son, who looked like he had been in a bar fight, "Any progress on your side, Nate?"

"Not yet."

Irina started to pace around again. She knew better than to pressure her own son, but the feeling that they will not be able to find Sofya and Nadia on time is disquieting. Jack is having a tele-conference in his office with Chase while Sydney is in another part of the city, interviewing the witnesses to the bank robbery to have a firsthand clue to who took Nadia.

She heard Nathan muttering in Russian. She knows that he's very frustrated.

'Who isn't anyway?'

"Marshall, does Radetskii have an alias?" Nathan asked after a few minutes.

It took the tech a few seconds to reply. The presence of Irina and Nathan Derevko, the latter being a carbon copy of Jack Bristow with a nefarious-looking scar, was making him into a nervous wreck. They might look battered, but still…

"Daniel Smith is the only one listed here."

Nathan didn't say anything and started to type again. The moment he finds Ignatius Radetskii, he will castrate him and then kill him with his bare hands. He will pay for what he did to them.

A few seconds later, he leaned back on the chair and allowed himself to relax after sixteen hours.

"I don't think they were headed to Switzerland."

-x-x-x-

_The pain in her head was killing her. She wasn't able to fight off the intruders that took her from the safe house—well, actually, she was able to fight off the intruders, but she tripped on the pavement while she was running away from them._

"_Wake up, sleepyhead." _

_She groaned and groggily opened her eyes. The sight before her astounded her._

"_Aunt Katya?" she knew she didn't sound incredulous enough because her aunt just smiled at her and stroked her hair. What is going on here?_

"_Breakfast has been waiting for you."_

Juan Miguel Calderon watched their captive, The Key, who was cuffed to the bed and murmuring seemingly dreaming of something from her past.

"What is happening to her?" he thought out loud and looked at Leo Deretoskiev. The older man looked back at him and then smiled slightly.

"The Rambaldi serum is taking effect. She's going back, remembering. And since this is the first time her system has received this potion, she will only be able to translate what the Passenger had written only after an hour or so."

"This serum that you gave her… is this different from the green liquid?" he asked, shoving his hands in his pocket. His young age was showing from how he stood and how he carried himself. He also exuded a compassionate nature, but everyone knew that there was ruthlessness running beneath that personality.

Deretoskiev shook his head, "This is different, but also derived from Rambaldi's equation." He glanced at the young man, one of the most eager of his new partners.

"It won't hurt?"

A small chuckle escaped his lips, "Of course it would. And if we give them too much, we might kill them."

Calderon looked at him, his mouth, pursing. The older man didn't seem to notice, so he looked back towards the room. He could hear her whimpering. His apprehension was showing.

"I'll be going back to the security room," Deretoskiev said, "You're welcome to watch her if you want." He had expected that Miguel Calderon would be smitten by Sofya Derevko. And when the young man didn't accompany him back, he couldn't help but give a chuckle.

-x-x-x-

Nathan ran his fingers over his messy hair and strained his eyes to figure out the data on the monitor. He had encountered a lot of dead ends; at first, he told himself that he'd go through the frustration and would succeed in finding a clue to where his sisters were taken. But, after twenty-and-a-half hours of thinking, typing and cracking his skull open, he's in the threshold of accepting defeat. It's actually a wonder how he lasted this long given that he's used to getting information in less than three hours.

Finding out where Nadia and Sofya might have passed through was not enough. They needed to know where they were—that is what's important.

He made a disgruntled sound, prompting Marshall to look up from what he's doing.

"Hey, uh, Nate…" he started. Nathan glanced at him and Marshall immediately saw the pressure beaming in the teenager's eyes, "Its, uh, okay if you take a break. You've been sitting there for a while."

"And what do you suggest?"

The tech shrugged, almost unfazed with his stare, "You could eat. Or pace around. Or maybe take a nap?"

Nathan rubbed his face with the palm of his hand. Marshall took a short break a while ago and he seems refreshed when he came back. Maybe he should do that too.

He leaned back on the chair and started to stretch. His mother is currently talking with Jack Bristow and Director Chase. He knows that it must be about this situation, but he wonders what is taking them so long.

The sleeves of his green sweater were pushed up to his elbows and he can clearly see the cuts and bruises that he sustained from defending himself. He didn't know how he warded them off with just his hands; he even managed to kill two men.

He sighed and stared at the monitor of the laptop. His twin sister had helped him countless of times in the past whether it be cleaning his mess in the kitchen or staring at death to protect him.

Now it's his turn.

Nathan stood up and started to walk around. He needs to think.

_He didn't expect her to cry. _

_At eight-years old he had believed that his twin would never shed tears for something as petty as superficial wounds. She seemed to be a super girl made out of pure metal. She didn't seem to get hurt._

_They both tried to jump off the tree from the highest branch that they could reach. It was his crazy idea, and she actually paused to think about his suggestion._

"_Iya?" he crawled towards her. She was sobbing and cradling her right arm, "Iya?" his mother was right; jumping off from a tree was a stupid idea._

_The tears continually fell in his sister's eyes. She wiped them off with the back of her hand once in a while, but she couldn't stop crying._

_Her right wrist hurt and she couldn't move it properly._

"_Are you alright?"_

"_It's painful." She whimpered, holding her right arm, "It's very, very painful."_

_He looked at it closely and found the wrist swelling. Uh-oh._

_Hastily, he stood up, "I'll go get Maria."_

A burst of pain suddenly shot through him, bringing him down to his knees. He clutched his chest and gasped for breath, but the mere thought of it was like an icy dagger slashing his throat. His eyesight blurred and he fell down.

Marshall alarmingly rushed towards Nathan's unconscious body. He turned him on his back and was shocked that the long scar on the teenager's face is starting to bleed.

"Oh, my god." He whispered, both confused and afraid at Nathan's condition, "HELP! HELP!" he took out his handkerchief and pressed it gently on the wound.

A few minutes later, they were carting him off towards the sickbay. Marshall worriedly followed the agents. It was all so sudden—Nathan was pacing around and the next minute he fell down to the floor, crying out in pain.

He felt his worry double when he saw Sydney already in the infirmary, bleeding from her shoulder. Vaughn is watching over her, holding her hand.

'What is going on?'

-x-x-x-

"_The signs were seen in everyone except for Bristow."_

"Inject Irina Derevko with the red serum in three hours." Leo Deretoskiev instructed and ended the call. He glanced at the window to where the Passenger was being held. She was going through a different kind of alternate consciousness—the green serum that Arvin Sloane injected in her only showed the location of the Sphere of Life. The serum they gave her, a reddish-violet concoction which was also in Milo Rambaldi's writings, would give them the next steps on the seer's goals.

It will only show him half of the writings of Rambaldi if injected only on the Passenger. But with The Key… in a way, Rambaldi split his consciousness into two. However, if they give them too much, they will die— the Passenger dying from that complications in the cerebrum while the Key dying from the extreme pressure on the circulatory and respiratory system.

On the other hand, the effect of the serum on the other members of the family was that of extreme and unbearable pain. The other children in the prophecy would go through the physical form of pain, but their mother… their mother would go through every kind of pain imaginable. It seemed to be Rambaldi's punishment for her choosing someone else.

He looked at his watch and reluctantly took a step away from the door. Its time to go for business.

-x-x-x-

"_We ran all tests possible, Agent Bristow and we didn't find anything." The doctor said to him, and fought for his attention as it was mainly focused on Irina. She seemed to be suffering greatly in the infirmary bed. She had collapsed a while ago, when they were talking in his office. Nothing seemed to relieve her of her pain._

"_I don't know how to explain what had just happened."_

He didn't understand what happened, but it brought fear, and worry to him, in huge doses. How could he not feel afraid when Irina's wrists began to bleed suddenly? How could he not feel afraid when Irina began to scream in pain and bruises appeared out of nowhere? How could he not feel afraid, when, for no reason at all, Nathan and Sydney crumpled to the floor, crying out in agony? How could he not feel afraid, when, the thirteen-year old scar on Nathan's forehead and the three-year old scar that used to be a bullet wound which Sydney received from her mother, seemed to have opened up again? How could he explain it to himself?

The computer technicians were pestered for immediate information on Nadia and Sofya's whereabouts. Now, the medical staff was being pestered for the explanation of the symptoms.

He glanced at Sydney and Nathan's sleeping forms. They've been unconscious for the past two and a half hours. How much longer did he have to wait before they wake up and tell him that they're okay?

Then, Nathan groaned.

"_Sooksin_." He muttered and tried to pull himself up. He opened his eyes and found white cloth obstructing his vision, "What's this?" he mumbled and tore it off. He yelped and tears stung his eyes when a burning sensation accompanied his action.

"How are you feeling?" Jack asked and appeared in front of him. He didn't know if he should be amused with what his son just did.

Nathan looked at him with an expression of slight puzzlement on his face, "I'm fine. Why do you ask?" it then occurred to him to look around and when he did, he found Sydney sleeping in the other bed. He could clearly see a big stain of blood in her right shoulder.

"What happened?" he asked, alarmed, and looked at Jack again, "Where's mama?"

"You don't remember?" his son gave him a glare that is similar to his own, that he couldn't help but sigh, "You fell unconscious with your scar bleeding. It also happened to your sister. Your mother is in the other room."

Nathan swung his legs to the edge of the bed, "I need to see her."

"You can't. Maybe later…"

"This is important." His son stressed as he stood up. Nathan gazed at him, "It's not arrogance, nor is it stubbornness. It's just that it's really important that I see her."

Jack studied him. His son looks perfectly fine to him, "We don't know what's wrong with her." He remarked and motioned Nathan to follow him.

Irina's room was three doors down the hallway. He couldn't watch her struggle in pain; he actually wanted to take her into his arms and hold her, to try to make her feel a little better. But he couldn't do it in front of his colleagues. He didn't have the courage for it.

He reached for the knob and found it locked. He peered inside. The doctor, who attended to Irina almost three hours ago, was inside, holding a syringe filled with a red liquid. Irina was sleeping—the sedatives given to her worked.

'What is he doing?' Jack thought. He jiggled the doorknob, "Nathan, call a nurse. Inform her that this room is locked." He ordered. There wasn't a hint of worry in his tone, but that was what he's starting to feel. The noise he made impelled the doctor to inject the liquid in Irina's arm.

Her scream filled the room, prompting Jack to make an attempt on breaking the door. Irina punched the doctor, but she still needs help. She's locked inside the room with a madman.

"What's happening?" his son asked, running towards him. He had heard his mother screaming.

"Just help me break down the door."

They didn't need the key after all.

The door was cracked towards the middle when they went in. Jack headed straight towards the dear doctor, while Nathan rushed towards his mother.

Jack clamped his hand on the man's neck. Unadulterated rage is clearly seen in his eyes.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." He said in a low tone as the 'doctor' started to choke.

The man started to claw his hand away, desperate for air, "I'm not the only one who works for another." He had expected that once he said those words, Jack would loosen his grip. Unfortunately, his hold even tightened, "I'm telling you the truth." He said, terrified of his impending death.

Jack let go of the neck and punched him. The doctor fell to the floor, out cold. He then glanced at his son, who seemed to be afraid of touching his mother. Irina was thrashing about the bed, saying profanities in a variety of languages, while at the same time, asking that Nathan step away from her.

"Mama…" he trailed off and then looked at Jack.

"Call for a nurse. Tell her to call for Agents Vaughn and Dixon and then come here." He said, "I'll take care of her."

His son took one last glance at his mother before he hurriedly left the room. He, on the other hand, crossed the room and gently called her name. "Irina."

"Make it stop. Please."

Jack didn't say anything and instead, gathered her into his arms and held her. Her shoulders are shaking so hard and her tears were falling endlessly on his shoulder.

"I don't want to feel it anymore."

He listened to her. Three hours ago, she didn't really say anything except for vulgarities. Now… this was different. He hadn't seen her like this before. In fact, he had never ever seen her like this before. He stroked her hair gently and willed his strength to her.

When Nathan returned with the nurses, he found his father trying to soothe his mother's pain. She had stopped screaming, but it's clear to them that she's still in great agony.

"Just a little longer." He heard him murmur. His mother's condition was affecting Jack Bristow deeply. He looked like he's suffering too.

'_What will you do if you find out that he doesn't feel a thing for her?'_

It was the wrong question he had asked himself. He should have known that his mother still has positive feelings for this man, and vice versa. He should have known that they were too stubborn to admit it.

The agents rushed in to apprehend the doctor. He's rendered useless in this room.

Nathan looked at Jack Bristow's direction once again. He's holding his mother's hand - the nurses had injected her with sedatives again - while he talked to both Agent Vaughn and one of the doctors.

'_What will you do if you find out that he still loves her?'_


	47. forty five

**CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE**

"_No, its okay. I'll do it." Her father whispered to her mother and stood up from the bed. The other occupant of bed, Sydney, stirred upon hearing the baby's cry but didn't wake up._

_Nadia couldn't help but feel like a voyeur, standing in the middle of the room like a ghost. This is her past and she's viewing it like some sort of movie._

_Her father lifted her infant self from the crib and tried to calm her. How old was she at this time?_

_She took a step closer and watched her father. The moonlight illuminated his face as he murmured a lullaby to her. Tears began to sting her eyes._

_Why did she have to see this? _

She stops writing and the pen drops from her hand. The manuscript is half-finished but she's not the one who will complete it. The Key - Sofya – will do the rest, including the decoding of the cryptic messages.

"Her part is done." A man's voice echoed in the distance "Let her rest."

Nadia began to feel light and the next thing she knew, she's standing next to the chair, watching herself. Her body looked dead, but she knew that she's still alive; she could feel her heart beating.

'But I look so dead.' She thought and observed the men as they unfastened the restraints from her wrists and ankles. She was then lifted off the chair and transferred to the bed in one corner. They strapped her to the bed once again and hurriedly left with the papers in their hands.

She decided to follow them. After all, she's just a… soul. Or maybe this was just dream. Nevertheless, if she followed them, she wouldn't be seen. She could explore the facility where they were being held.

She stepped out to the hallway. The walls were dreary and they could seemingly suck out the happiness from an individual.

'What is this place?' she asked herself, walking two steps behind the men. She had tried to tap their heads, but found that her hands just slice through them.

She then peered at the glass windows of one of the doors they passed. An old man was standing in the middle of the room, garbed in a white jumpsuit. His face is wrinkly, his eyes blank, and saliva was dripping from his mouth.

Window by window, man or woman, it was the scenario that she saw. It became clear to Nadia that they are being held in a mental institution.

"I pity those assigned to that other girl." One of the men said, interrupting her thoughts, "Did you see the scratches on their faces?"

The man he was talking to, nodded his head, but didn't say anything. They weren't actually allowed to talk about this.

Nadia followed them, interested. Sofya could still fight back even after being injected with the serum?

She stepped in with them to the elevator, and went two floors up. She had wished that the men talked more about her sister's state, but they had begun talking about the depressing mood of the building.

They stopped in front of a door being guarded by three other men. As they handed the papers to them, Nadia peeked in the glass and found her sister sitting on the bed, hugging a pillow. She had a faraway look in her eyes, and wasn't restrained.

When the men went in, she immediately followed.

Her sister's eyes listlessly followed her 'visitors'. Nadia could clearly see the tears that were starting to form in Sofya's hazel orbs.

The three men took her from the bed and then dragged her towards the chair at the other side of the room.

"Please… don't…" the words were barely above whisper, but Nadia could clearly hear the distress in her sister's voice.

One of the men went to the medical tray by the corner and retrieved a hypodermic needle. The red liquid was visible from where Nadia's standing.

She turned her head away when he injected it on her sister's neck—she couldn't bear to watch. The pain that went with the serum was something that she knew too well.

It was Sofya's piercing scream that sent her spiraling back to her own oblivion.

-x-x-x-

Doctor Ryan Jain tried to keep his composure as he stared at the man in front of him. Marcus Dixon had been asking him questions, and some of them are questions he could not answer.

Unlike other people, he wanted to become a doctor not because he wanted to cure but because he wanted to get rich. Alas, when he got the job at a hospital that was later revealed to him mainly caters to government employees—a hospital that took care of wounded CIA and FBI agents. He knew that his goal to be affluent has been stunted. He will not get a lot of money curing these people.

He was contemplating about quitting the hospital when a simple letter he found in his mailbox changed his mind. He was promised a lot of money if he stayed being a doctor. It wasn't that bad a proposition, but it sparked his curiosity. He didn't ask any questions, but he knew that there would be something in exchange for it.

That day came when he was transferred to APO. He was tasked to report on the health of Arvin Sloane, Nadia Santos and the Bristows. Besides that, he was informed that there was an agent working for him also. It was supposed to appease him that he wasn't alone in 'betraying' his country. Investigating who his 'new' employers were was difficult, but he managed.

"You do know that implications of what you had done, Dr. Jain?" Dixon asked, "We have evidences of you tampering medical supplies and administering an unknown serum to two agents and two analysts who have an important role in this unit."

Dixon couldn't believe it. Dr. Jain was something like a friend to him. How could they have not seen that behind his cheery face was a traitor?

"I was after riches, Agent Dixon. I knew what I was going into when I accepted the proposition."

Marcus leaned back on the chair, "Your sentence might be lightened if you cooperate with us in our investigation."

"How can I be of help when I do not know who the other mole is? I did what was asked of me. I don't ask questions." Jain answered, "Nor was I interested with what they want from Director Sloane, Agent Bristow, Irina Derevko and Nathan Derevko."

"A man like you, Dr. Jain, is a man who doesn't like being led around like a dog in a leash. You're not a person who willingly brings themselves to serve blindly."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Ryan Jain's features. This man, if he could call him a friend, knew him well. They lived practically next door to each other. They're more than just acquaintances.

"Valerie Ordi was the only name that I encountered in my investigation. I assumed it was a fake name so I didn't pursue it any longer."

Marcus looked at the mirror by the side of the room. Jack and Chase were on the other side. They have something to start on again. He hoped that Ryan Jain feared for his life, because if this turned out to be a lie, he didn't know what Jack will do to the doctor.

-x-x-x-

"Double the dosage. I want this done and over it."

Leo Deretoskiev ended the call abruptly and threw his cell phone to the wall of his private plane. Rage was visible in his face, and he fought to keep calm.

One of his moles had been found out. The flaw in his plan had exploded. The remaining members of the Bristow family would be able to find them soon. The prophecies should be in his hands by the time that happened.

He clenched his fists.

He must advance his time table now.

-x-x-x-

_She and her sister climbed up the bed, with wide smiles in their faces._

"_Goodnight Mommy." She said and sat beside their mother._

"_Goodnight mama." Her sister said and sat beside her._

_Their mother smiled at them and reached out for a kiss. Her eldest daughter kissed her on the cheek before kissing her swollen belly._

"_Goodnight little brother or sister." She whispered._

Sydney opened her eyes. Where was she? She thought as she saw the white ceiling above her. As she tried to focus her eyes, fragments of what happened a few hours ago began to surface. She was talking to Vaughn when she felt her body being hit by invisible knives. She remembers falling down to the floor with a scream stuck in her throat.

She pulled herself to sitting position and looked around. She saw Vaughn sitting on the other bed. When he saw her look at him, he smiled, although the worry is still in his eyes.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Sydney smiled back at him, "I'm fine."

Vaughn stood up and went to her bed. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, "You scared me back there, Syd."

She closed her eyes and relished the comfort of Vaughn's arms, "I thought I was going to die." She whispered

He gazed into her eyes and lightly kissed her in the lips.

"Where's Dad?" she asked. She saw a flash of hesitation in his face, but it was quickly masked.

"Dr. Jain gave you something that induced the pain, Syd. He gave it to you, to your brother and to your mother when you went to him after your attack. Nate and Irina also experienced what you experienced but your mother underwent a different kind of …" he noted the change in her expression and he took her hand, "Jack and Nate caught him in your mother's room when he injected her with that liquid. The lab is still testing it, so…"

"Is she okay?" Sydney swung her legs to the edge of the bed, "Where is she?"

Vaughn stopped her from standing up, "She's okay, Syd, but Dr. Jain suggested that there is another mole in APO. Your father asked Weiss to guard her."

"And Nate?"

Vaughn looked towards the door, "He's been waiting for you to wake up." He stood up and unconsciously squeezed her hand before walking towards the door, "I'll call him."

Sydney stood up and walked around. She walked in front of a mirror and found that her white blouse has a blood stain in her shoulder. She lightly touched it and made a mental note to change her shirt before stepping into the office again.

"Hi."

Sydney looked at the direction of the voice and found her brother walking towards her. She smiled at him, "Hi yourself. How are you doing?" she asked observing the drops of blood in his sweater.

"I'm fine. You?"

She nodded her head. Her brother then stuffed his hands in his jeans pocket and took a step closer.

"They found a lead. A Valerie Ordi."

Sydney raised a brow, "I doubt that's what you wanted to tell me."

The corners of her brother's mouth turned up slightly, "I've been thinking," he started, "That maybe we can get our intel from a person in CIA custody and not just from a mole."

"Sark?" she asked, unconsciously wrinkling her nose. She then started to walk towards the bed.

"No." Nathan answered, his eyes following her, "Aunt Katya."

Sydney looked at her brother contemplatively. Why hadn't they thought about this before? Their aunt worked for whoever took their mother and probably the mastermind behind their attacks. She might be able to help them.

"Have you told Dad?"

A nod of the head was his response, "He didn't like the idea. He thinks she will try to manipulate me."

"What makes you think he'll agree with me if I talk to him?"

"You know him better?" he suggested weakly before shrugging, "She doesn't know mama, Iya and I are here. She doesn't expect that we'll turn ourselves in. If we talk to her right now, she'll be caught off-guard, maybe even shocked. It's a great opportunity to get the information we want."

Sydney sat down on the bed, "Do you think she'll give us false intel?"

"I don't think so. She can be unpredictable." Nathan answered, "If we tell her what happened, she'll give us something. She can be nasty if she wants to, but everything she does have a reason. Every one has reasons for everything they do." _That doesn't mean that I forgive her for what she had done to mama_, he mentally added.

She gazed at him thoughtfully. He looks terribly stressed out.

"We'll talk to Dad together."

-x-x-x-

She stared idly at the ceiling. She had read all the books they gave her. She didn't have anything to do. God only knew how bored she was.

She had stopped counting the days she had been kept as prisoner. This long wait was slowly driving her crazy. When could they let her out for exercise?

She shifted her position in the bed. She hates being uncomfortable. And bored. She hated being both uncomfortable and bored at the same time.

"We'd like to have a few minutes alone with the prisoner."

The deep voice penetrated her thoughts, bringing a tingle of shock in her body. Almost immediately, she sat up and looked towards the metal bars.

"Nate?" she said, gaping at her visitor. Sydney was with him, but she was so flabbergasted about seeing her nephew that no words came out of her mouth.

He looked like he'd been to a fight and the bruises in his face didn't look like it came from Sofya. Nevertheless, he had grown taller and bigger, and growing more handsome every time she saw him. But why was he here?

"What are you doing here?" she asked after finding her voice.

"We need information." Sydney answered. Nathan was right; his presence surprised Katya Derevko.

She glanced at her, "Information about what?" she asked in a neutral tone before bringing her attention back to Nathan. _What had possessed you to come here? Are you working for the CIA?_

"When you first came here, you refused to tell us who your employer was. We're asking you again." Her niece answered.

Katya coolly looked at Sydney, "You think bringing your brother here will change my mind?"

"Your employer kidnapped Iya and Nadia. We can't find them." Nathan replied in a cool tone. His stance was rigid and his eyes glittered with disdain, "Unless you love your employer more than us, then go ahead, drown in silence."

Sydney took a quick glance at her brother and found a younger version of her father standing beside her.

His aunt paled upon hearing him, "Your sisters were kidnapped?" her nephew calmly stared at her and she knew that he wasn't lying.

"I need the basic necessities." Katya said and jutted her chin, "Give them to me and I'll give you everything you want to know."

This time, Sydney crossed her arms in front of her chest, "We're not in the mood for your haggling."

"I give you my word. I just need yours. Don't take too long though, Nadia and Iya are in great danger." She peered at Nathan, "Your mother knows what I'm talking about."

Brother and sister looked at each other. It was Sydney's decision to make. She needed to make the choice now.

"A new set of beddings will be delivered tomorrow morning." Sydney said, finally.

"And your choice of books." Nathan added. He felt his sister look at him and he looked back at her. He gave a little shrug before looking back at his aunt.

Katya let out a deep breath and dropped her hands to her side.

"Leo Deretoskiev—that's his name."


	48. Glimpses

So sorry...

**NOT CHAPTER FORTY-SIX**

_Glimpses_

_October 1974_

"_You know how much I hate to be treated like a fool, Laura. Or whatever your name is. You're nothing but a puppet in your government's game."_

"_And you're not?" she angrily replied, "What makes you different?"_

_His eyes glittered with fury as his fists clenched and unclenched, "What makes me different? Well, for one thing I will not fuck my enemy for my government!"_

_Her fist was so quick that he first staggered backwards before he realized that she punched him. He slightly touched his jaw, and thought it stung, he smiled grimly._

"_Its true, isn't it?"_

She had thought that she wouldn't be affected with his words. She had thought that she would forget about his hurtful allegations since they weren't true. But since Jack directed his words towards the real her, she'd be hurt about it, whether it's true or not.

It's been almost three weeks since Jack discovered that she was a KGB agent. He had his hands around her throat, trying to squeeze the life out of her when she decided to betray her country and gave damning intel that might paralyze a few important operations of the KGB. She had betrayed her own people for the life within her.

She was three months pregnant and she hadn't told Jack about it. Her superiors knew about this information and they wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. They said that it was too soon since she and Jack have been married for only six months.

A ragged sigh escaped her as tears began to sting her eyes. She didn't want to kill her baby. It was her baby, for crying out loud, and it was her body. Her superiors were forcing her into going through abortion that leaking about a KGB contact in the post office was an answer. Vaslav Nureyev was a vital part in intel gathering. Her superiors were currently busy covering their butts to remember about her current state.

She had turned her back from the country that nourished her. It was something she vowed not to do when she entered the Academy. In Dante's _Inferno_, traitors went to the ninth circle of hell, the worst place to be as it was both a freezing and blistering hell. She was in that place right now and nothing could make her feel better. After betraying her motherland and the people she loved, she was slowly starting to hate the woman she was portraying. Why did she have to be constantly reminded that Jack loved Laura and not her?

She took a spoonful of melted ice cream on the bowl before looking at the wall clock—12.30 in the morning. She had slept early, but she woke up with a craving to eat the chocolate ice cream that she bought in the grocery. She then took a bite from the piece of bread before she took another spoonful of the ice cream. She couldn't understand why it was so delicious. Maybe the taste buds really change when you're pregnant.

The sound of the front door opening broke her reverie. The heavy footsteps that resounded told her that Jack had come home from work. She hurriedly stood up and tried to clean up her mess before he saw her.

Unfortunately, her fingers accidentally pushed the bowl off the table. The crash echoed around the house.

"Damn!" Irina hissed. She knelt down to collect the broken pieces, being careful not to cut her hands. The fluorescent lights suddenly flooded the kitchen and surprised her.

"Laura?"

Irina made a sound of confirmation, but didn't ask for help. Quickly, she picked up the shards and placed it on her left hand.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked and walked towards the table.

"Goddammit!" he heard her mutter. When he reached her position, he found her kneeling on the floor. Her left hand was bleeding.

"I was thirsty." Irina lied and threw the shards in the trash. She went to the sink and began to wash her hands. She hoped that Jack was too tired that he would not notice the two, one-pint containers of ice cream in the garbage. She also hoped that he wouldn't notice the loaf of bread beside the half-empty glass of milk.

He looked around and knew immediately that she was lying. He took a step towards her and peered over her shoulder, "Are you okay?" he asked, with a hint of concern in his tone.

"I'm fine." She answered curtly even if the wound stung. She took the soap and began to rub it over the cut.

Jack reached for the first-aid kit, "The CIA has apprehended and is currently interrogating Vaslav Nureyev." He informed her as he took her hand and looked at it, "He's saying that there are moles in the Agency."

"I don't know who they are." Irina replied as she watched him. Why was he suddenly being nice to her? She then took a deep breath and asked, "I gave you the intel. When will you give yours?" it was their deal—an exchange of intel. She would give him viable ones, while he would give her partly useless ones. Her superiors wouldn't mind since she was the wife of a field agent. Of course once Jack moved up the ladder, they would expect more workable intel from her.

"Did you have any other reasons for betraying your country, Laura?" he asked, not answering her question as he dabbed antiseptic on the cut.

"No."

Jack raised a brow before applying the gauze, "Are you sure?"

Irina looked up and directly gazed into his brown eyes, "I'm pretty sure I betrayed my country for my life." She then gently pulled her hand away and inspected his handiwork, "Thank you."

She then started cleaning up her mess by drinking the remainder of the milk and placing the loaf of bread in the refrigerator. She could feel Jack's eyes following her every move and it was starting to rile her.

"Goodnight, Jack." She said politely and hid her yawn. As she walked out of the kitchen, she couldn't help but feel like she surpassed one of her greatest trials.

"Your obstetrician called this morning." He saw her stop dead in her tracks. It was as if she was lanced by this revelation, "She was asking if she could move your appointment a day early."

She slowly faced him, her expression neutral.

"When did you plan to tell me that you're pregnant, Laura?" Jack asked, letting his anger seep in his tone.

"I wasn't going to tell you." Irina answered. She could feel her heart starting to race when she saw a change in the expression in Jack's face. Maybe she shouldn't have said that. Maybe she should have just ignored his comment and locked herself in the room.

Jack's eyes sharpened when he heard her response. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and didn't move an inch from his spot. He didn't know what he'll do to her if he moved.

"And why, may I ask, would you not tell me?"

Irina felt like she's been cornered by a hungry, wild wolf. Now that Jack knew about her little secret, what would she do? What would he do for that matter? It was not as if it was his child with the woman he loved.

"I don't want to talk about this right now. Good night." She turned away and hoped that he dropped the subject (although she knew that it would never happen).

In two giant strides, Jack crossed the room and took hold of her right wrist, "It's a simple question." He growled and pulled her towards him.

"It's a question with very complicated answers." She answered in an equally angry tone.

He gripped her wrist tightly, "How long have you known? And how long have you been trying to find a way to terminate it?" in the corner of his eye, he saw her left hand flying in his direction, but he was too late to react to it.

For the second time in three weeks, the woman who pretended to be his loving and dutiful wife had hit him twice in the jaw—and it hurt. Still, he didn't let go of her.

"Why will I go to the obstetrician if I'm just going to kill my baby?" her voice broke as she began to cry. Jack stared at her but she ignored him, "Let go of my hand, you oaf. And stop looking at me like that. Its just hormones!"

He immediately let go of her wrist, "How far along are you?"

She couldn't gauge the emotions on his face, "Why? So you'd know if I could abort her!?" her distress was very palpable in both the expression of her face and the tone of her voice.

Jack, though he still felt angry, also felt bewildered with her outburst, "What are you talking about? I was just asking-"

"Just shut up!"

"Laura-"

"Don't call me that!" Irina lividly said and wiped the tears from her cheeks, "I hate that name!" and without further explanation, turned her heel and stormed away.

Jack was totally taken aback with her reaction. It was a good thing that their house was quite soundproofed lest they would be exposed to their neighbors.

"_I hate that name!"_

He was feeling rage a while ago, but now he's feeling mystified. It was clear that he wanted the baby—she also wanted it too. But why that outburst?

'Think Jack, maybe her superiors didn't want her to be pregnant?'

He followed her up the stairs. He walked towards the guest room and tried the door. It was locked. He sighed and went to the master's bedroom. He needed to think about this.

Irina curled up in the bed and closed her eyes. She tried to even her breathing as she placed a protective hand over her abdomen. She needed to calm herself.

He wanted the baby. Relief coursed through her veins as the realization settled down. As his words played over and over in her head, it became clear to her that he also cared for the life growing inside her. She should be happy, yet she felt more miserable and she didn't know why

The tears started to come again.

_**The following day**_

"Mrs. Bristow?"

Irina looked up from the papers she was reading and saw a large bouquet of red and white roses with a young man's body.

"Yes?"

A head popped in one side. The young man smiled hesitantly, "These are for you. But please sign this first." He said and handed her a delivery form from a flower shop. After she had signed the paper, he gently placed the bouquet on top of her table and hurriedly left. He hated the attention he got when he delivered bouquets of that size. And he could barely see where he was going!

Irina took the card attached to the ribbon. She smiled when she read the content of the card before smelling and admiring the flowers.

_Love, Jack_

-x-x-x-

_June 1975_

Jack stood by the doorway, watching Irina as she watched their two-month old daughter sleep in the cradle. It was a fascinating sight and it somehow relaxed him.

Irina. In a span of eight months, she had somehow erased the image of Laura in his heart and replaced it with hers. Laura knew of his job, but was naïve about its hazards. Irina knew of his job and she knew its dangers intimately. He placed Laura in a pedestal. Irina would slap him if he made an attempt to make one for her.

If God turned back the time and asked him to pick between Laura and Irina, he would choose the latter. Not because he knew that Laura was a fake, but because he loved Irina more.

"Hey." She greeted smilingly as she angled her head.

Jack looked at her and smiled. He then walked towards their bed and sat beside her. He wrapped his arms around her waist. He still found it astonishing that they fit together so well.

"How is our little Sydney?" he whispered as Irina leaned her head on his shoulder. Her body was tired, but her mind wasn't.

"Beautiful. Perfect." She answered, with a hint of awe in her voice, "She amazes me all the time."

Jack gazed at their child and felt tenderness filling him.

"I'll just stretch out for a while." Irina softly said. Jack kissed her on the cheek and he moved his arm so she could recline comfortably. He then returned his attention back to Sydney and he reached out to gently stroke the baby's head. This was his child. He would do everything in his power to protect her.

He took a deep breath and then looked at Irina. She had fallen asleep, tired from attending to Sydney.

Jack lay down next to her and pulled her closer to him. He heard her sigh.

He had never felt this kind of contentment in his life.

-x-x-x-

_October 1981_

She didn't ask for help. She thought that he would not be able to do anything about her extraction.

He thought that everything was going well. They worked well. They fooled everyone. He didn't know about the KGB pulling her out of the mission.

And in that instance, everything seemed to have shattered to pieces.

-x-x-x-

_June 1984_

"Mommy?"

Irina felt tears stinging her eyes as she smiled at her eldest daughter. Sydney had grown a couple of inches in the past three years. The image that she had kept in her memory cannot be compared to the image in front of her.

"Hello, Sydney."

Her daughter looked at her warily, "Are you a ghost?" her daughter then looked at Jack, who shook his head.

"Mommy was just gone for a while, Sydney. She didn't die."

"But…" Sydney trailed off, and scrutinized the woman in front of her. She doesn't know whether to believe her eyes or her logic. She crossed her arms in front of her (just like her father) and stared at her for a few minutes, "Are you a zombie?"

"Do I look like a ghost or a zombie, sweetie?" Irina asked amusedly.

"No." Sydney shook her head, "If you're not a ghost or a zombie, can I hug you?" the nine-year old girl asked after a long time of silence.

Irina opened her arms. Upon seeing the welcoming gesture, Sydney ran towards her mother and hugged her fiercely.

"Oh, Mommy, I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, sweetheart." She answered and kissed her daughter. She could feel her cheeks getting wet. She had deprived her daughter a mother for three years. She wouldn't do this again. Never ever again.

"I love you Sydney."

"I love you too, Mommy."

-x-x-x-

_January 1987_

"So Chicken Little looked up to the sky and said, look the sky is falling!" Sydney read out loud to her sister. They were sitting in the living room, both wearing their pajamas and waiting for their father to tell them to go to bed.

"Why did he say that?" Nadia inquired and peered at the storybook, "The sky doesn't really fall, does it?"

"No, it doesn't fall, Nadia." Her big sister answered, "Chicken Little was just paranoid."

"What's par-noid?"

When Jack stepped in the living room, he found Sydney looking at a dictionary, trying to explain a word to Nadia. She had this look of concentration on her face, something that she seemed to have gotten from him.

"Uhm, paranoid means that you, uh, think that everybody and everything is going to get you." Sydney said, hoping that she had explained the word to her four-and-a-half-year old sister, "It's a complicated word."

"Am I par-noid?" Nadia asked.

Sydney shook her head, "No."

"What about papa?" her sister asked when she saw their father coming towards them.

"Uhm, no." Sydney looked at her father earnestly, "Are you paranoid, Daddy?"

Jack smiled and sat in front of them, "I don't think so." He said. He placed a hand on their shoulders, "But I think its time to go to bed."

"Aww, Daddy. May I sleep a later?" Sydney asked.

Nadia yawned, "May we, papa? Please?" she rubbed her eyes and tried to appear wide-eyed.

Jack shook his head, "Your bedtime was thirty minutes ago." He said and then lifted Nadia from the sofa, "On Friday, you can sleep as late as you want."

"Promise?" Nadia asked.

"I promise." Jack looked at Sydney, who pouted at him, "Come on, Syd. You don't want to be late for your class tomorrow."

His eldest daughter stood up, "Okay."

He accompanied them to their rooms and saw to it that they brushed their teeth and washed their faces before sleeping. He tucked them in their beds and kissed them goodnight before turning off the lights and closing their door.

He then went around the house and made sure that he had locked all the entrances and closed all the windows. He also double checked the security system, to make sure that they were running correctly.

When everything was okay, he went up the stairs to go to bed.

Jack opened the door and found only a lamp illuminating the bedroom. Irina, who was five months pregnant, was already asleep. Quietly, he walked towards his side of the bed and slipped under the blanket.

"Are the girls asleep? They said good night to me a while ago." Irina sleepily asked.

He looked at his wife and found her looking at him, "Yes." He leaned towards her and kissed her lightly on the lips, "Albeit thirty minutes late."

She shook her head, "Sydney will be late tomorrow."

"Not if I can help it." Jack answered and kissed her lightly again. He turned off the lamp and nuzzled his face in her hair. As he laid his hand on her swollen belly, he felt movement under his fingers.

Irina felt him smile and she couldn't help but smile too. She placed her hand on top of his and felt satisfied.

"Good night, Jack."

"Good night, Irina."


	49. forty six

**CHAPTER FORTY-SIX**

"They tested the serum that Dr. Jain injected into your wif—Ms. Derevko, sir." Marshall said and gave Jack a folder, "I'm afraid that's all they got."

Jack opened the folder and scanned its contents. There were too many technical jargons, but he seems to get the gist of the paper—the serum inflicts pain.

"Uhh, as said there, the serum has weird ingredients. It doesn't have any life threatening vibe to it, if you look at it as a whole, but when I took the blood samples of Nate, Syd and Ms. Derevko and then mixed it with the serum, the cells were attacked."

Jack looked at Marshall and then returned the folder to him.

"Thank you, Marshall." He gave him a curt nod and left.

He walked towards the conference room. Different thoughts were swirling in his head and they were all fighting for his attention. They needed to find Sofya and Nadia, but they had to find out who the other mole was. And then, he had to find a place to put Nathan and Irina, since they couldn't live in APO. Sloane hadn't woken up yet and Dr. Jain said that they might wait for twenty-four hours before he wakes up.

Jack took a deep breath and tried to relax. He should focus. He should do everything one step at a time.

When he neared the conference room, he heard Sydney and Nathan having a heated argument.

"He has been under the radar for fifteen years and, as you said earlier, his files were very easy to get. Why are you still so sure that Katya is telling the truth?"

"She said Nadia and Iya are in danger. She wouldn't give false information if that's the case."

"What makes you so sure!?"

"Because Iya is her favorite! She will not want to hurt her!"

Jack entered and looked at his children. Sydney noticed him first and she instantly clammed up.

"What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing." Sydney answered, "We have a lead. We're not sure if it's reliable-"

"Actually," Nathan interjected, glaring at Sydney before looking at him, "It's pretty reliable."

Jack knew that they didn't listen to him when he said not to talk to Katya Derevko. He warned them that it will be a waste of time and that they will not get anywhere with her. It seems to him that she gave them information, which was contrary to what he said.

"What did Katya say?" Jack asked and sat down at the head of the table.

Nathan turned on the projector, "She works for Leo Deretoskiev, 61 years old, a former senior officer in the KGB. He disappeared when the USSR fell." He clicked the remote and another slide appeared, "When he was in the KGB, he was closely affiliated with Boris Yulochev. When it fell, Yulochev's alliances flirted with the SVR and the K-Directorate. In 1993, he disappeared. He resurfaced again when the Covenant appeared."

"Yulochev is currently CRF. Aside for that, we don't have a lead anymore." Sydney said in a condescending tone intended for Nathan, "I think Katya played us. Nate thinks otherwise."

"I know that woman. She's not going to give us fake intel for a bunch of fluffy pillows and books. She's not that low."

"You don't know what that woman can do." She replied and crossed her arms in front of her.

"Neither do you." Her brother retorted.

Sydney glanced at her father who seemed to have turned his attention to the other papers scattered on the table. She looked back at Nathan, who had adopted a mulish expression on his face.

"She gave us fake intel."

"No, she didn't."

Jack sighed at the bickering, "Stop it, you two." He said and then put up the papers he was reading a while ago, "What about Ignatius Radetskii? Do you have anything on him?"

"Not yet, except that one of his known aliases is Daniel Smith." Nathan answered, "Mama said he did some work for her. She didn't elaborate on what it was although I'm pretty sure it included death."

Jack leaned back on the chair. They are running into dead ends and time seems to be running out. Everything is so disorganized and they can't seem to work well. It's as if someone is deliberately sabotaging their rescue efforts.

Sydney sat down and looked at her brother. He had returned his attention back to the computer, as if desperately trying to look for information that he might have overlooked. She then looked at their father, who seems to be lost in thought.

"Your mother will be staying with me in my apartment until the mole is caught." Jack suddenly said. Both his son and daughter looked at him with a surprised look on their faces. Obviously, they didn't expect him to say that.

"Have you told her your plan?" Nathan asked.

"She's still asleep." Jack answered, shrugging, "The mole will have access to safe houses. My address is not on file. He won't have that kind of way in my apartment."

"So what you're saying is that she'll be safer with you?" his son asked again. Jack could detect Nathan's slight distrust by the manner he asked the question. Though he saw this protectiveness as quite irrational, he himself could understand it. Sydney was an example of a victim of this protectiveness.

Sydney watched them, fascinated with the discourse. She hadn't seen her father and her brother interact like this. Normally, they'd sit in icy silence and attempt to melt each other with their stare. But now, they're actually having a conversation.

Jack's cell phone suddenly rang. Without missing a beat, he took it out from his pocket and took the call.

"Bristow." He greeted tersely as he stood up from the chair.

Nathan sighed and went back to work. His worries about his mother staying with Jack quickly dissipated, knowing that the man would take care of her. However, they were quickly replaced by his worries for his sisters. His aunt said they were in danger. He's not going to wait to see if what she said was true.

"Is that so? Thank you for informing me, doctor." Jack ended the call and looked at Sydney.

"What is it Dad?" she asked, noting the grim look on his face.

"Sloane just woke up. He couldn't remember what happened to him." He turned his glance towards Nathan, "Start with Yulochev. He's most likely the person who can lead us to your sisters."

-x-x-x-

_He sank down on the leather sofa, relieved that another day has gone by without tragedy striking. Things are going well in APO. The missions and the reconnaissance work are all doing fine; however they seem to have no progress with Irina's information about some of their senators' involvement with terrorists._

_He wistfully looked at Emily's photograph which is sitting on the side table. A small smile tugged his lips as he took the picture frame. Despite her being gone for almost four years, he can still feel her presence which gives him strength._

_Suddenly, his trained ear detected a slight racket by the front door of his house. He looked at his watch before standing up to investigate._

_He was halfway towards his destination when he heard noise by the back door. Without second thought, he turned his heel and went to the kitchen. Home invasion is something he doesn't take lightly._

_A masked man unexpectedly appeared and charged towards him, taking him by surprise. They struggled but Arvin Sloane, who had years of experience in both in the field and behind a desk, lost to a battle that needed youth and brute force._

"All I can remember is walking towards the kitchen." He sighed in exasperation at Jack's persistence.

He could see that something is up. Jack's shoulder was tense and he emanated agitation. Worry was etched deep in his forehead and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. There were also scratches and slight bruising on his face.

"What makes you think that I'm not telling the truth, Jack? I'm the one who ended up in the hospital." Although you look like you should be in a hospital too, Sloane thought

"Aside from you, my family and I were attacked at the same time. Now, two of my daughters are missing and we found a mole who tried to hurt my wife. The mole implied that his employer was quite interested in you."

"_Why not just ask him?"_

"_He's wasted."_

"_That was what the drug does to people, doesn't it?"_

Sloane gaped at him, "You think I have something to do with this?"

His 'friend' didn't say anything but just looked at him. They stared at each other but Jack broke the silence after a few seconds.

"I'm giving you the benefit of a doubt, Arvin." He said and left the hospital room.

_He could feel his head spinning. Pieces of conversations drifted into his ears. They are looking for files, papers that he had kept hidden for years. What do they want?_

_He then started to feel Emily's presence. His skin tingled at both the warmth and coolness of her spirit._

"_I want to know how the Passenger reacts to Rambaldi's serum."_

He massaged his temple. Why couldn't he remember?

-x-x-x-

Weiss was walking on APO's hallways, hungry and tired. Its way past dinnertime and he hadn't seen or touched food since lunch. Jack asked him to stand guard for Irina Derevko and ever since that time, he hadn't eaten anything. Guarding Irina seemed to be the hardest work he had ever done for APO. After all, he was dating her daughter and she knew it.

He went to his desk and fixed his things. As he shoved one of the folders in the drawer, he spied Nathan still in the conference room, sitting in front of two monitors, seemingly trying to conjure a location to find their suspects.

Weiss dumped the rest of his mess in the drawer and marched to the conference room.

"Hey." He greeted as he popped his head inside.

Nathan took his eyes away from the screen and looked at him. The bruises on his face looks a little bit better compared to yesterday but his thick black hair is uncombed and is flying in different directions. There are dark circles under his eyes and he appears so bleak.

"You okay?" he asked as he walked towards the teenager.

Nathan nodded his head. He ran his fingers over his hair and yawned, "I'm okay." He said and leaned on the chair.

"Have you had dinner?"

"Syd went out to get me a sandwich." Nathan answered, "You're Eric Weiss, right?"

"Yeah, I'm Weiss." He replied and took a step closer towards Sydney and Nadia's only brother. He noticed that he raised his brow slightly when he heard an affirmation of his identity.

"Aren't you the agent my father assigned to stay with my mother?"

He shrugged, "Uh, yeah. Your dad sort of took over for me." Weiss said and gave him a small smile.

"Oh." Was his only reply. He then rubbed his eyes and returned his attention back to the computer screens.

"Have you slept?" Weiss asked when he saw Nathan's eyelids drooping.

"Not really." He leaned back on the chair once again and massaged his temple, "I haven't slept ever since I woke up from those sedatives." He's been technically awake for more than twenty-eight hours. He starting to feel sleepy, but he can still feel his energy humming.

"You're Nadia's boyfriend, right?" he said after few minutes. He began to type several commands in the keyboard before looking at Weiss.

"We're dating." The agent answered. Weiss felt like he's being interrogated by Jack with the way Nathan was staring at him. Jack hasn't inquired about the dating stuff, but Nathan asked him about it.

A small smile formed in the teenager's lips, "You're best friends with Vaughn?"

"Yeah. Mike and I go way back."

Jack's son nodded his head, "Okay." Again, he turned his attention back to the computers, scanning the information that is quickly running through the screen.

Weiss sat down beside him and stared at the monitors interestingly, "What are you doing? Didn't you go through all of the existing criminal databases we have?"

"Iya made an extensive database of the people we've encountered when we were… terrorists. I didn't realize it had gotten this large." Nathan answered, concentrating on the information he's getting.

"Your sister made a database?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, she does this kind of thing when she's bored. You should see the family tree she made for the Greek gods and goddesses, and its counterpart in the Roman, Norse and Native American mythology, if applicable. She also made an intricate family tree of the Romanov family—" his narration was cut short when one of the laptops signaled to him that they found something in Sofya's database.

Nathan quickly accessed the information. Two windows appeared onscreen.

"Oh, what do we have here?"

-x-x-x-

"Leo is Katya's former lover. He's very… charismatic." Irina started as she stared at the photograph of Leo Deretoskiev which was taken fifteen years ago. It was the most recent picture the CIA has as he disappeared at around the same time the picture was taken. She should know—she was there when he said goodbye.

"Was he a friend?" Jack asked. They were both sitting in his office, sifting through some of the papers Sydney had given to him. She had insisted to Weiss that she wanted to get back to work. Weiss responded by calling him instead.

"No. He was my superior in the KGB when I was recruited. Two years later, he was moved to a special research department. That department researched on Rambaldi and his works."

"Rambaldi." He repeated.

Irina sighed, "Jack, according to the manuscripts that I've read, Rambaldi saw four people who will carry on his works—the Chosen One, the Passenger, the Key and the Valiant. However, his texts about the Key and the Valiant were sparse; his followers believed that he destroyed them before he was executed, but he mentioned them once or twice in his journals-"

"What are you saying? That Sofya and Nathan are the other two… prophecies!?" Jack asked, cutting off her explanation.

Irina resignedly nodded her head.

"And you believe this?" Outrage could be heard in his voice, "Sydney, Nadia… and now Sofya and Nathan!?"

She kept quiet. She understood what Jack was feeling. How could a man five hundred years from the past make their lives difficult and complicated? Her children were tools for destruction, a fate that they couldn't have foreseen. How were they going to stop it?

"What will the Key and the Valiant do?" Jack asked finally. He could now see clearly the level of danger his daughters are in.

"The Key is another conduit of Rambaldi's consciousness. Without her, the remaining information the Passenger has is useless because it cannot be understood. The Key is important into knowing what Rambaldi truly wants."

"And the Valiant?"

"The Valiant seemed important to Rambaldi but there was nothing written about him in the surviving manuscripts." Irina answered, "When I was being held prisoner, they were asking me about the Decoder. Leo made a mistake in the translation and they thought that the Key was a thing and not a person."

Jack stared at her, "They were looking for Iya."

She nodded her head. Katya had an inkling of what Leo Deretoskiev was looking for, but she didn't tell him about Sofya or Nathan. Her sister had protected her children by pushing them away from her.

He felt an array of emotions that he hadn't felt ever since he saw Sydney's face in a five-hundred year old piece of paper. Why is this happening to his children? What had they done to deserve this kind of punishment?

Then, someone knocked on the glass door of his office. It was Nathan.

Jack pressed one of the buttons in the remote control to unlock the door. His son burst in, holding several papers in his hand and wearing a triumphant expression on his face.

"Mr. Radetskii is on his way to Germany."


	50. forty seven

**CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN**

Doubling the dosage didn't compel her to produce or translate manuscripts faster; in fact, doubling the dosage seemed to knock her out quicker.

It was like a turbulent plane ride—you don't really have a clue if you're going to be safe unless you pull out of the clouds in one piece. In her case, she doesn't really know if she's really alive unless a man comes in the room and injects her with a syringe full of a reddish-violet fluid.

Sofya slowly opened her eyes. _Is she still alive?_ Her eyes darted around, 'How long have I been unconscious?' she thought and tried to move. Unfortunately, her body felt like its being pinned to the metal bed by a huge brick wall.

This was one of the serum's effects. When injected into her system, the past comes back to her, quickly depletes the energy of her body but manages to keep her awake for the whole day before shoving her to the realms of sleep. However when she wakes up, she seems to feel more exhausted than before she slept. Coldness also envelopes her, overpowers her will and prevents her from thinking about escape.

She doesn't feel hungry. She feels awfully thirsty, though. But every time she tried to drink water, her throat closes up. The water seems to choke her. If this goes on, she'll probably die soon.

After a few minutes, being reclined on the bed made her feel like she was dead, so Sofya struggled to sit up. Her lungs felt constricted, as if it was being squeezed out of the air she worked hard to inhale. Her eyes watered as she used all her remaining strength to move, and her body seemed to be screaming in pain—she felt like she's being cut into ribbons by the little movements she tried to make.

_Every kind of pain she had received in her lifetime will come back to her whenever she receives my essence. Let it be a lesson to her that no one rejects me._

She was fulfilling her part in Milo Rambaldi's revenge to Serena and Gian Carbo, for the man had foreseen that the two lovers he was once so jealous of would have a life together in the future and that their four children would be the key to his rebirth.

'It's a frigging 500-year old plot for revenge!'

The door to her prison opened and in came two men holding several sheets of paper. A terrified expression appeared on her face. Is Nadia okay? They keep churning out papers for her to complete and translate. She is more susceptible to the serum. If they give her too much, she will die.

She began to cry uncontrollably when one of the men walked towards her. She's been awake for only a few minutes and they want to inject her with that stupid fluid again? Why do they have to get this information from her? Why can't they just leave her alone?

The man dragged her away from the bed and placed her on the chair. They fastened straps around her ankles and her right wrist—a precaution they took after she had injured two of the other guards.

"Please..." she wept when she saw the syringe being filled, "I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to write… Please don't inject me… please…" she thought begging to her captors would make them stop. But they didn't.

Her shoulders began to shake, "No, please don't…" she whimpered as she looked at the needle. She didn't know that she still has strength to produce tears.

One man gripped her shoulders as the other inserted the needle in her neck. Sofya could feel the fluid burning her blood vessels, slashing every part it passes.

Screaming was the only way she saw to make it go away. And as she did, her left hand grabbed the pen by the blank papers and began to write.

_When will this long road to hell end?_

-x-x-x-

(The fifth day)

Ignatius Radetskii was confirmed to be in Germany and Nathan has begun alerting his contacts in the country as Mikhail Premenov. His son is not ignorant of his influence and reputation in the black market. Jack didn't have any qualms about his son using that identity. If Nathan could use it to find his sisters and pinpoint the mole, then the end justified the means.

"Ja. Danke." He heard Nathan say when he stepped in.

"Any progress?" Jack asked. There are three other cell phones ringing. He's the only person in the conference room, multitasking.

His son nodded his head, "It seems that he's been asking about me." He said and picked one of the phones on the table.

"Premenov." He greeted, "Gav? Why are you calling? Oh… oh, sorry about that. Everything's fine. Yeah… okay… bye." He ended the call and then tossed the phone to the table before taking another ringing phone.

"Do you need help?" Jack asked. It was like a jungle inside.

"I'm fine." His son replied, "I'll be done in a few minutes. I'd probably have a meeting arranged by then."

Jack went out of the conference room and headed to his office. He left Irina with the piles of paper trails of both Boris Yulochev and Ignatius Radetskii. They are hoping that it might give them an idea to where they went after Nadia and Sofya were taken.

Since most of the walls are made of glass, Jack could clearly see Irina holding a hand over her chest, leaning forward towards his desk. She seemed to be in pain

Alarmed, he hurried towards his office, "Irina." He called out as he burst inside the room.

"I'm fine." She quickly said and, though it didn't help in her breathing, sat up straight, "I'm fine." She repeated.

He went towards her and gazed at her face. She's pale—but that seemed to be normal nowadays. Still not sure, he went behind his desk and took the phone.

"Yes, is Dr. Murphy still there?" he glanced at Irina who was shaking her head; "… please tell him to come to my office. Thank you."

"I said I'm fine." She remarked and took a deep breath, "A doctor will just hinder us from doing our work."

He didn't respond immediately and instead sat down on his chair, "Better be safe than sorry." He said and leaned back on his seat. He felt his back groan in delight when he relaxed slightly.

Dr. Murphy arrived in his office, with his black medical bag. Minutes later, Irina felt the cool metal part of the stethoscope touch her skin.

"Your heartbeat's erratic." He said after a few seconds, he moved the stethoscope to her back and listened to the pace of her heart again. "Palpitating, actually. You need immediate rest."

He straightened up and looked at Jack. He scrutinized his face and then commented, "I think you need to rest too, Agent Bristow."

"Maybe later, doctor." Jack answered plainly.

Dr. Murphy shook his head, "Exhaustion kills people, Agent Bristow. I suggest that you two take a rest. Trust me, you'll feel more motivated to work after a good sleep."

Both Jack and Irina didn't bother to argue with him. They knew that they wouldn't get anywhere with what the doctor is ordering. When Dr. Murphy left, they looked at each other. They knew that Dr. Murphy was right—exhaustion was distracting them.

Irina sighed, "Where can I lie down for a while?"

-x-x-x-

(A few hours later)

Sydney ruefully looked out the window as she ate the reheated Chinese take-out. Nathan went with her when she went home since his head had started to hurt and he felt he might vomit from all the information and calls he'd been receiving. He had taken a shower first and ate the leftovers he found in the fridge before falling down the bed. She could hear him snoring all the way from the guest room.

She feels so tired. But finally, they could a little rest with the information that they had found. At last, they could sleep for a few hours and recharge.

A quick glance at the clock told her that the sun will set soon. She finished her food hurriedly and placed the dishes on the dishwasher. She wants to get as much sleep as possible.

Sydney placed the utensils she used in the dishwasher and headed to her bedroom. But before that, she took a swift glance in the guest room. Nathan was flopped down the bed, face down and his head is buried under the pillows.

A small smile crept up her face as she walked towards her room. Her bed seductively coaxed her to come and she finally feels relieved that she could respond to that call.

She crawled under the sheets and closed her eyes. The moment her head touched the pillows, only one thought lingered on her mind.

'I hope we find the two of you soon.'

-x-x-x-

(That night)

"_We're going to find it Irina, whether you like it or not. Now just tell us where it is and we'd make life easier for you."_

_She didn't look at him and instead eyed the rod warily. One of the men is heating it with a torch, and she knew that they're going to poke it in her skin._

"_Ah, I see that you've seen our new equipment." He said and smiled at her, "So, Irina, are you going to tell us or not?"_

_She jutted her chin defiantly. And though it scared her, she knew that if she gives this up, she'll be endangering her children._

"_I'd rather go to hell, Boris."_

_Boris smiled even wider and signaled that the rod be given to him, "My dear Irina, you're on your way."_

_Time seemed to have slowed down as she watched the heated end of the stick went its way towards the hands of her torturer. _

_The moment the rod touched her neck, she knew immediately that Boris was telling the truth._

Irina bolted up to sitting position with a scream stuck in her throat. Her heart was racing and she frantically began looking around her surroundings, trying to figure out where she was. It was dark and only shadows lingered in the room. That memory seemed to become more and more like reality with every passing second.

She started to panic. Where was she?

"Irina?"

She froze. Jack. He's here.

She heard something being flicked and at once light flooded the right side of the room. Quickly, remnants of the hours before came streaming back to her. They found out that Radetskii is in Germany… Nathan was trying to make contact… the doctor advised them to take a rest… Jack brought her to his apartment since they couldn't put her in a safe house… she's safe. It was a dream.

"Are you okay?" he asked and pulled himself up.

Irina glanced at him. He had loosened his tie and took off his suit, but he's still wearing his pants, and his belt. It's as if he had no intention of changing his clothes at all.

She bit her lips and nodded her head. She saw him took a deep breath in exasperation and looked at her.

"You know, I only asked that question as not to be rude." Jack said, "This has been going since Sussex. You talk in your sleep, you sleepwalk, and you have night terrors. Don't tell me that you're okay because you're not."

"And what do you want me to tell you? Do you want me to tell you what I've been through in those six months? Talking about it will only make me summon those horrible memories and the problem with that is that I don't want to remember." She angrily snapped back. Every breath she took constricted her. Every breath was ragged and every breath hurt.

Jack's face softened. She still hasn't told anyone about her ordeal, "What have you been through?" he asked gently. She shook her head and looked away from him.

"Tell me." He said quietly.

She lowered her head, "I can't. I don't want to-"

"Tell me." He pressed.

Irina took a deep breath. She could feel her eyes stinging, "A week after we faked my death, I received a call from Katya… she was asking for a meeting. I obliged and she entrapped me…" she trailed off as she remembered the look on her Katya's face when she realized that her own sister had betrayed her. "The interrogations first started out civilly. To make a long story short, I refused to cooperate and they used force to make me talk."

"What did they do?" Jack asked in a faint tone when she stopped. Irina glanced at him. A grim smile had appeared on her face.

"They tightly tied my wrists with chains so that I couldn't fight back. Their ways of torture were medieval and they'd use whips to lash me until I'd be drenched with my own blood. They'd heat metal rods in front of me and then…" she stopped talking. That was what she was dreaming a while ago.

She fought back the urge to run away from the discussion. She had kept this from everyone, a secret that she longed to bury without having to remember.

"One of them will hold me down while another one will stick it in my neck. It was so painful and I could remember passing out from it. Rape was just something that they used to make me feel more… wretched. Everything they did was just fun for them." Her voice broke and the tears she tried to contain broke out. She couldn't describe what she's feeling but its starting to make her suffer.

"I'm sorry." Jack whispered.

"Don't look at me, please." She turned her face away. She can't bear to see pity in his face. She doesn't want that.

He reached out and touched her shoulder. Delicately, he pulled her towards him and tightly wrapped his arms around her. He could feel Irina crying her heart out and he has a feeling that this is the first time she had cried about this. This is a different kind of pain.

"I'm sorry." He said again as he buried his face in her hair, "I shouldn't have stopped looking for you."

As her tears fell, she took in his scent, his strength. How could she have forgotten this sensation of being held?

He pressed his lips on her forehead and cradled her in his arms. He didn't want things to be like this. He didn't want to see her cry, to feel her suffer. They've been through enough already.

After a few minutes, she gently tugged away from his embrace. She gazed directly into his eyes and felt safe.

She leaned forward and gave him a deep kiss. Her lips stirred him awake—all kinds of awake.

Jack pulled away, "Irina, we can't…"

"I need to feel something other than pain. Please."

He gazed at her eyes and tried to think straight. She was always there when he needed her—why couldn't he do the same for her at this time?

_Consequences…_

Irina kissed him again. This time, he mentally threw away his reservations about their situation and kissed her back. And as it deepened, he slid his hands under her shirt and began to explore her skin. He wanted to feel her writhe in pleasure with his touch. He wanted her to forget, even for a short time.

With her lips still on his, she straddled his lap and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt. He felt her fingers caress every inch of the skin she exposed and this action brought about bursts of tingling to his nerves. He tugged her shirt upwards, with the need to feel her flesh against his.

When their clothes hit the floor, he rolled her to her back and brought his mouth to her right breast. Jack could feel her heartbeat hammering against his mouth as he tugged and teased the taut nipple. She gasped and squirmed, but arched her back to offer him more.

He could feel her excitement; hear it in her quick, ragged breaths. As her body trembled under him, he felt his greed overpowering. He dragged his lips downwards, his tongue laying a trail of damp heat over her body.

Irina couldn't breathe. Her heart is beating so loud that it's all she could hear. She gripped his hair then clutched the bed sheets. She wanted to call out his name, but the sound that she could only produce was that of a sob.

He brought back his mouth to hers and pulled her pants downward. She did the same, although her fingers fumbled with his belt a little. Within seconds they were naked, sharing the heat, the desire and the greed, all the while nipping and biting.

"Irina, look at me." He said breathlessly. Her brown eyes looked up at him and found them filled with seemingly insatiable want. He gazed into her eyes as he lowered himself to her base, slowly filling her. He then slowly rocked back and forth and watched as her brown orbs grew more clouded. He heard her murmur his name and felt her wrapping her long legs around him.

His pace gradually became faster. Her hips began to move with him, her back arching. He felt fire coursing through his veins as he drove them both to a place of power and freedom. Jack felt himself losing control, felt his blood pounding and rushing in his head. Irina's back arched as she climaxed, his name leaving her lips like prayer answered.

He shuddered and buried his face in her hair as he reached the end. He called out her name, as if she's the only one in the world who can hear him, and emptied himself in her.

-x-x-x-

The muffled sound of the birds chirping drifted into his consciousness. It began to clear the cobwebs of sleepiness in his brain and tried to bring him back to consciousness. He attempted to fight it, but every time he does, he could feel his body getting more and more attuned to his surroundings.

_He rolled to his side and looked at her as she leaned her head on his shoulder._

"_That felt… wonderful." She sighed, "Thank you."_

_He said nothing and instead pulled her nearer. Seconds later, he felt her breathing evening, her body relaxing. He then reached out for the lamp and turned it off._

His eyes flew open. Irina's naked form is stretched out close beside him. She's sleeping on her stomach, totally in peace. Her hair was messy, slightly covering her face, but he could see the marks he made on her neck and arms and back.

They are so close that he could smell her, feel her. As the memories of their lovemaking last night come flooding back to him, he could feel himself stirring, wanting her again.

'Stop it, Jack.' His thoughts warned, 'Walk away.'

Last night, he helped her in her pain. Neither of them should put any deeper meaning to it.

But then, he heard her sigh and he couldn't help but push back the hair that covered her face and looked at her. He caressed her cheek and let out a deep breath. Irina Derevko was still the most beautiful woman in the world for him.

After a few minutes, he slipped out of the bed and picked up their clothes, which were scattered around the floor. He began to feel thirsty so he slipped on his pants so that he could go to the kitchen without controversy.

He still must have been really sleepy since he didn't realize that his son and daughter are in the kitchen until it was too late.

"Hey, Dad. Uhm… good morning."

Sydney greeted him with a hint of slight uncertainty in her tone. Her father was walking around half-naked—it was no problem at all since they were in his home, but she could see bite marks on his neck and light scratches on his chest and back. It's a very… she doesn't know how to explain it.

She looked at Nathan, who met her gaze.

"What are you two doing here?" Jack asked as he looked around the kitchen. There was a laptop set up in the table being surrounded by a bowl, a measuring cup and a tray of fresh eggs.

"Breakfast." Nathan answered, "And we brought mama clothes." He hurriedly went out of the kitchen to get the duffel bag he left in the living room.

Sydney smiled at her father and tried to keep her eyes on his face. But she noticed that his hair was quite tussled. She couldn't help but surmise and imagine what transpired between her mother and father last night.

"You look…" The expression on Jack's face dared her to finish her sentence with what she was thinking about, "…well rested."

Jack headed to the refrigerator and took a pitcher of water, "What time did you get here?"

"Thirty minutes ago." Sydney answered and turned away from him to finish the scrambled eggs.

Jack raised the glass to his lips and didn't respond to her. He knew that both Nathan and Sydney noticed the red/purple marks in his body. And he knows that they were too embarrassed (or afraid) to bring up the topic.

"Any progress on Radetskii?" Jack asked.

"Nate said he might be contacted later." Sydney answered. She glanced at her father and found him walking towards the doorway, "Uh, Dad?"

He looked at her. Was she going to ask about it? He thought and waited for her to continue.

"You and Mom didn't… try to kill each other last night, right?"

"Why would we do that?" Jack replied dryly. He didn't wait for her response and went out of the kitchen. For Sydney, her father's answer was like a hit in the head—it made her dazed and dizzy.

A few seconds later, her brother went back to the kitchen and immediately went towards her side.

"They didn't do it just once, did they!?" he exclaimed in a low voice, "I mean, how could you get those many bite marks in just one… try!?"

"Nate, sshh." She replied, "What they do is their business."

He started to pace around, "Do you agree with the words that are coming out of your mouth? I saw the expression on your face when you saw those things on his neck!"

"If they did what we think they did last night, then Mom gave that to him."

"Then what did he give to mama?"

Sydney shut her eyes. Her imagination (or what she calls the dirty little part of her mind) was starting to rev up again, "Nate, please. You're bringing images in my head and they are freaking me out a bit."

Nathan sighed, "We're going to have breakfast with them. We will be seeing something and we'll be sensing something. I want to compartmentalize now before I say something inappropriate later."

"Well, we won't be able to do that." His sister answered, "Just think of something else."

"How will you think of something else when all that pops in your head is the bite marks on his chest?"

"Nate. Please. Shut. Up. NOW."'

"Fine. But please remind me to behave when we're going to sit down for breakfast."

Sydney couldn't help but take a deep breath. How in the world can she and Nathan go through breakfast pretending that they didn't know what their parents did last night?


	51. forty eight

**CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT**

_(Undisclosed location, Germany)_

"Since we're almost finished with our deal, would you mind if I bring in my laptop so that we can finalise the arrangements?" He asked as pushed his chair backwards.

Ignatius Radetskii shook his head, "No, of course not." He scrutinized the young man in front of him and asked, "And when will I meet with your hacker friends?"

"They're a bit elusive, Mr. Radetskii. I hope your employer doesn't mind if the job takes longer than expected." The young man answered as he took his cell phone to call his bodyguards.

Radetskii watched him. He had lied about having an employer. After all, he is his own boss. He needs Mikhail Premenov to assist him into accessing Omnifam's old database. He needs it badly.

"Mr. Radetskii, it seems that my men are having problems. Do you mind if I step out and get the laptop myself?"

He shook his head again, "Go ahead."

Mikhail Premenov walked towards the door and was reaching for the knob when it suddenly burst open and slammed on his face. The force pushed him to the floor, enabling the intruder to get inside. He tried to stand up but the intruder immediately reached out for his neck and tasered him.

Radetskii stood up from his seat, "Mr. Premenov, are you-" he abruptly stopped when he saw the person who stepped inside the room.

"But… you're dead… they said you were dead."

Irina Derevko straightened up and stared. She then sauntered towards him and gave him an ominous smile.

"I was blessed with nine lives, Ignatius. I still have seven more before I truly die."

_**(72 HOURS EARLIER)**_

_(LA, California)_

Nathan has never felt this kind of awkwardness before. He couldn't look at his mother in the eye when he saw the marks on her arms and neck. He didn't want to react to it as he didn't know how she would respond to him.

He glanced at Sydney and found her face buried under the newspapers, reading. He then looked at Jack and the expression on his father's face told him that they will allow the pink elephant in the room to trample them to death.

"Uh," Nathan started and cleared his throat. Everyone looked at him as they haven't spoken a word ever since they've started eating, "Is this the… housing arrangement from now on?"

"Until the other mole is caught, yes." Jack answered.

This time, he found the courage to look at his mother. He wanted to know if she agreed with this settlement. She looked back at him and gave him a reassuring smile.

Silence reigned in the dining room once again. Sydney didn't dare to speak, as if afraid that she might say something very out of place.

A noise in the living room suddenly disturbed their reverie.

"Please excuse me," Nathan said and stood up, "The computer has… never mind." He then hurriedly went out of the room, leaving his sister once again to face the uneasy topic that they are purposefully trying to ignore.

A few minutes later, Nathan popped his head in the room, "Uh, I need his help." He had never referred Jack by father (or any of its sort) or by his name. He might call him that someday, but right now, something generic is better—like 'hey'.

Jack looked at Sydney and Irina before standing up and following Nathan to the living room.

Irina finished the scrambled eggs and took the part of the newspaper Jack was reading. She could feel her daughter's eyes following her every move but she paid no attention to it. She's not going to open up the issue if she's just going to mortify her.

"Mom?" her mother looked up and she continued, "I just want to ask if you and Dad…" she trailed off, not wanting to continue.

"Sweetie, I'm not going to answer that question if it's just going to embarrass you."

"I am embarrassed, but I want to know. I mean…" her face started to go beet red.

Irina stared at her and after a few seconds, sighed. "Yes, we did. It was… therapeutic."

"Oh." Her face turned even redder as she took a piece of bread on one of the plates.

Her mother took the mug of coffee and observed her behind the rim of the cup. Her unfathomable brown eyes seemed to stare at her very soul.

"Uh, do you always have those bite marks on your neck after you do it?"

An amused smile appeared on Irina's face. She angled her head and raised a brow, "Why are you so interested in it, Sydney?" Her daughter shrugged to which she added, "Your face couldn't get any redder than that."

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"Its okay, sweetheart. No one has asked me those kinds of questions before."

Sydney mustered a smile to which her mother responded generously. It was one of those surreal moments that you don't want to end, even if you just went through the most discomforting event of your life.

A few minutes later, Jack and Nathan came back, with an identical expression of triumph in their faces.

"Radetskii contacted Premenov and he wants a meeting." Nathan said and sat beside Sydney, "My protocols permit me to wait for another day before I reply."

"We could use that time frame to plan our next step." Jack added, "I've already phoned Vaughn and the others. A meeting will be held in APO in an hour or so."

"What about the mole?" Sydney inquired.

"He'll be dealt with later. For now, we'd have to keep our circle tight. Only the people we trust we'll be in it until we find Nadia and Sofya."

-x-x-x-

"He had followed everything in the protocol that I've set up for Germany. Well, except for the Swiss bank account that he had opened for the transaction, he followed everything to the dot," Nathan said, "And according to some of my associates, Radetskii expects that he be given the same, if not higher, protection I give my other _clients_."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Weiss asked and looked at the others. Everyone had come in the office earlier than the said time of the meeting. His eyes rested on Irina and Jack, who are seated next to each other. They seemed refreshed, well-rested. Sleep really does good work to people.

"It means that he expects that I will give him protection while I'm under his payroll. And even if I hate him and want to kill him, I cannot hurt him. Not until I give him what he wants. I also cannot allow you to barge in on our meeting."

Dixon shook his head, "You're not going to be in his payroll. You have an agreement with the CIA and you're going to honor that agreement or you'll go to jail."

"I'm not saying that I'm going to back out of this." Nathan replied, "According to contacts, Radetskii is a paranoid man. If he suspects that he's being entrapped, our one and only source of information about my sisters' location will be gone. I will not sacrifice this opportunity by going with your inane idea."

"It's not inane." Dixon replied irritably.

"Its not inane, but it has a high chance of failing." Nathan answered disdainfully.

Jack looked at Dixon before looking at his son, "Do you have any alternate recommendations?"

"I have none at this moment." He answered. He could feel the tension starting to rise— it is partly his fault He admits that, but he wants to get this done and over with. He knows that everyone feels this way too.

Sydney tapped her fingers on the table. For a few minutes, the occupants of the room were quiet. She looked at her mother and then remembered that Radetskii knows her.

"Mom, how well does Radetskii know you?" she asked

Irina shrugged, "He was the last person I saw before I woke up in a cell." Everyone looked at her way. She felt Jack's sharp glance piercing her, but she didn't look at him, "Bribing Ignatius will not get you anywhere. He's enjoying the privileges of being affiliated with these terrorist organizations. He lacks common sense and he's quite superstitious, but that doesn't mean he's stupid."

"And you're suggestion is…?" Jack asked, giving her a hard stare. Why didn't she tell him that last night?

"A little playacting."

(Two days later)

The protocol that he had sent when he answered Ignatius Radetskii's request had included being seen in The Majestic three hours prior to the meeting. They will then meet in a nightclub a few blocks away from the hotel before finally going to the actual place where they will hold the transaction. He had to make sure that Radetskii will be lulled to some sort of false security.

The petite blonde behind the reception desk was busy with the reservations on the computer when a dark shadow befell on her. She plastered a smile on her face and looked up, expecting to see a businessman, or maybe an old couple who is visiting Germany for the first time.

"Good evening…." Her voice trailed away when she saw the person in front of her. A tall, handsome man seriously stared at her with his hazel eyes and is waiting for her to finish what she was saying. The long scar on his face didn't scare her—it made her more interested in him, even if he exudes danger and temper.

"Good evening sir, how may I help you?" she cheerfully asked.

"I reserved a room. Mikhail Premenov."

She smiled even brighter and typed in his name in the computer.

"Ahhh… Mr. Premenov. You're in room 1040." She said and handed him the card key, "Do you need any help with your baggage?"

"No, thank you." He answered and gave her a small nod. He then turned around and started to go to the elevator.

The elevator doors were about to close when he stepped in. No one was inside, and only his reflection in the mirror was his companion.

"_Target has just entered the building."_

"Copy that."

A swift glance at his watch told him that the meeting will start on time. Dixon and Vaughn should be getting ready by now.

He looked at the security camera in one corner. Marshall had tapped into the security system of the hotel. Technically speaking, they were looking at each other.

"_Good luck, Paladin."_

"You too, Wizard."

-x-x-x-

The loud beat of the music in the dance floor rocked the walls of the private room he had reserved for his initial meeting with Ignatius Radetskii. Nathan knew that even if he's alter ego has the reputation of offering very good protection to his clients, Radetskii will still have reservations about the security.

He leaned back on the chair and looked at his watch once again. Three more minutes before the meeting starts. He knew that the man he's going to encounter was always prompt. He will never be late for anything.

True enough, three minutes later, he heard Weiss' voice in his com link.

"_Target is coming. Three bodyguards."_

Nathan stood up from the chair as the door opened. Weiss entered, escorting a large man inside.

"Mr. Radetskii." He greeted when the door closed and Weiss left.

"Good evening Mr. Premenov."

His built was more on the stocky side, with wide shoulders and a big chest. His dark hair was cropped closely to his head and he looked like he could crush a person to his death. But he was soft spoken, a total contradiction to his appearance. Ignatius Radetskii looked like he could tear off a one-hundred year old tree from the ground, but he sounded like he couldn't hurt a fly to save his life.

But of course he knew that the latter was very untrue.

"You picked quite a spot for our meeting." He started when they settled down in their seats.

Nathan smiled, "It's a public place, Mr. Radetskii. Add to the fact that there are a lot of beautiful women who come here every night."

His comment elicited a laugh from the older man, "Ah, yes, the beautiful ladies. I take that you are popular among them?" he asked.

"I think so." Nathan stared at him, careful not to show the running hate he's feeling, "Would you like to have drinks first or go straight to our business?"

"I'm going to have that drink first."

**Meanwhile in APO**

"Well, he's clean of any electronic devices. He has a knife in his jacket and two guns, one in his pocket and the other by his ankle. Like a cop." Marshall said as he changed the mode of the cameras from infrared to normal. He then glanced at Jack, who was standing beside him, "He's a pretty smooth talker."

"_I hope you don't mind me asking, but could you give me some sort of overview of our meeting?"_

"_I'd rather that we wait until everything is quiet and settled until we talk business."_

"_Okay, Mr. Radetskii. Whatever you say."_

Jack could hear the slight irritation in Nathan's voice but the man he was talking to didn't seem to mind.

"How could he be so calm?" Marshall asked in amazement, "If I were in his position, I'd probably puke." He waited for a beat before he asked Jack "Is it in your genes?"

"I'd like to think of it as a product of the environment." he dryly replied. He then focused his attention on the monitors, waiting for the pleasantries to end.

A few minutes later, he saw Radetskii stand up.

"_I had my fill. Now, let's talk."_

**Let's go back to Germany**

Nathan let Weiss take the lead as they walked down the crowded stairs. There were lots of gyrating bodies, lots of laughing and teasing. He didn't take notice of it and just followed Weiss. He looked behind him and found Radetskii and his men pushing everyone out of their way.

"Mr. Premenov, you know this place very well." Radetskii said when he caught up with them.

"I am friends with the owner of this place." He replied, "I come here often." Actually, his mother owns the nightclub and he hasn't set foot in this place until now. He uses a different meeting place when doing business in the country.

"Well, tell your friend that his selection of vodka is very rich in taste."

Nathan looked at him and smiled, "I'll make sure to tell _her_."

Weiss led them towards the kitchen. A few steps later, he opened the door to the basement and escorted them inside.

"I hope you don't mind if you leave your bodyguards with my bodyguard. I assure you that they will be taken care of." Nathan said.

"I don't mind at all."

It was Weiss' cue to leave. He took one last look at Nathan, mentally wished him good luck and ushered Ignatius Radetskii's men out the room.

The door closed silently.

"Which of my services do you need, Mr. Radetskii?" Nathan asked and motioned him to sit down.

"Have you heard of Omnifam, Mr. Premenov?"

"Of course I've heard of it."

"Well, there is information in their database that none of my men could hack into. My employers heard that you have in your payroll two world-class hackers who could infiltrate even the most secure computer databases."

Nathan smiled at him, "And what sort of information do you want to get in the Omnifam databases?"

"There are several files they'd like to have, particularly a formula for cleaning the water supply…" Radetskii then elaborated the plan, making everyone who heard him raise an eyebrow.

A few minutes later, he was done talking. A slight smile can be seen on his face.

"Since we're almost finished with our deal, would you mind if I bring in my laptop so that we can finalise the arrangements?" Nathan asked as pushed his chair backwards.

"No, of course not." He scrutinized the young man in front of him and asked, "And when will I meet with your hacker friends?"

"They're a bit elusive, Mr. Radetskii. I hope you don't mind if the job takes longer than expected." Nathan answered and 'called' Weiss.

Radetskii watched him. He had lied about having an employer. After all, he is his own boss. He needs Mikhail Premenov to assist him into accessing Omnifam's old database. He needs it badly.

"Mr. Radetskii, it seems that my men are having problems. Do you mind if I step out and get the laptop myself?"

He shook his head again, "Go ahead."

Nathan walked towards the door and was reaching for the knob when it suddenly burst open and slammed on his face. The force pushed him to the floor, enabling the intruder to get inside. He tried to stand up but the intruder immediately reached out for his neck and tasered him.

Radetskii stood up from his seat, "Mr. Premenov, are you-" he abruptly stopped when he saw the person who stepped inside the room.

"But… you're dead… they said you were dead."

Irina Derevko straightened up and stared. She then sauntered towards him and gave him an ominous smile.

"I was blessed with nine lives, Ignatius. I still have seven more before I truly die."

Nathan didn't expect that his mother would have this kind of grand entrance. He could feel his nerves tingling and his nose bleeding. He groaned in pain. He had never been tasered before.

"They killed you. They told me you were dead." He whipped up a hunter's knife and held it in front of him. What could he have possibly done to make the dead visit him? Or maybe Premenov had slipped something in his drink.

He didn't wait for her to respond and instead lunged towards her with his knife.

She easily sidestepped him. Ignatius was a big man, but he's slow. And the fact that he's scared of her 'presence' would be an asset for her.

Nathan rolled on the floor. His cheeks were twitching uncontrollably and he couldn't make it stop. He then wiped the blood away from his face and pulled himself to sitting position.

"_Paladin, are you alright?"_

"No."

He could hear his mother talking to their target, taunting him. He, on the other hand, was struggling to stand up.

Radetkskii's eyes were filled with fear and hate. His superstitious beliefs were getting in the way of clear thinking. He made a slicing motion with his knife and lunged at her again. Once again, Irina evaded him, but this time he managed to cut a small part of her sleeve.

Blood began to appear in her right arm. Ignatius stared at her, "You're real."

"Of course I'm real, you idiot." Irina answered as she glanced at the wound. It's starting to bleed profusely, but she couldn't feel any pain.

"I'll kill you!" he said and leaped towards her. But he was suddenly tackled from the side and his knife was knocked out from his hands.

Nathan pinned him to the floor, "You will not hurt her." he said angrily, "She is my client. You do anything to her, the deal will be off." He continued and glared at Radetskii. Nathan could feel adrenaline pumping in his veins. He could tear off Radetskii's head if he wanted to.

"She's a ghost."

"She's real." Nathan said, "Ms. Derevko will leave now. She will leave if she still wants to be in my protection." He said in a hard voice.

After a few seconds, both men heard the shuffling of her feet and the slamming of the door. Nathan stood up and brushed his hands on his pants.

"I'm sorry about that." He said. Radetskii stood up and was going to say something when he suddenly collapsed to the floor. He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Magician, send Athena in again. Target's been disabled."

(A few hours later)

"Are you okay?"

Irina looked up and saw Sydney looking at her with a concerned expression on her face. She smiled comfortingly, "Yes, I am, sweetie."

"Are you sure?" Sydney asked. She had witnessed the Radetskii encounter through a surveillance camera and she hadn't seen her mother move that way.

"I'm sure." She answered as she smoothed the bandage in her right arm, "Where's your brother?"

"Talking to Marshall."

Nathan had injected a slow-acting sedative into Radetskii when he tackled him. It knocked him out for a few minutes and that enabled them to inject the truth serum into the man. Radetskii had given Nadia and Sofya's location without a fight and when he woke up again, Nathan informed him that Irina Derevko knocked him out. Since he couldn't explain why he was unconscious, he believed what Nathan said and they proceeded to finish the deal.

"Is he alright?"

Sydney smiled slightly, "Well, his nose isn't broken and he said that it was the first time he tasted the effects of a taser. He said he's thankful that it was you who tasered him."

"He was sarcastic."

"A little. He didn't expect it." She said. She remembers the time she was tasered by her mother. She didn't expect that too.

Irina sighed and looked at her daughter. She observed her for a while before asking, "When will we go back?"

"The plane will be arriving in half an hour. And Dad said that he'll talk to you before we leave for LA." Sydney answered. Her mother raised a brow, but didn't say anything.

A few minutes later, Vaughn went in the room, holding a cell phone. He looked at Sydney first and then at Irina.

"It's Jack."


	52. forty nine

**CHAPTER FORTY-NINE**

His call was merely that of courtesy. He asked about several things related to the mission—something that he could have asked Vaughn and Sydney— before asking her if the knife wound was serious. Why can't he just ask her directly if she's okay? These are one of the instances that make her want to smack Jack in head. But there is this little voice inside her head that says that she mustn't assume too much.

Irina looked around the plane. Nathan had immediately fallen asleep when they took off from the airport. Sydney and Vaughn are across him, also asleep. Weiss is at the far end, reclined on the chair, while Dixon who's the nearest to her, was awake and reading a draft of their report.

'He's a hardworking man.' She thought and leaned back on her seat. The action a few hours ago flashed in her mind again.

"_Groznyy… Demarkov mental institution… I brought them there myself." _

Radetskii's voice echoed in her head. They have a definite location, at last. They need to act fast or else they might lose this lead.

She then closed her eyes to meditate. Sleep was not an option. She cannot afford to have a nightmare at such an inappropriate time.

But after a few minutes, the steady humming of the plane sent her to sleep.

-x-x-x-

"You are not going."

She looked at him incredulously. Jack was busy jamming papers in his briefcase, as if he was in a hurry to leave.

"And why not?" Irina asked. Her jaw was set and her determination was very palpable in her stance. She tucked strands of her hair behind her ear before she crossed her arms in front of her and waited for his answer.

"I have operational control of the mission and I decide on whom to include. And unfortunately, you're not one of them." he answered impassively and looked at her.

Her eyebrows knotted, "Jack, I am perfectly capable of-"

"That's not it." He said, cutting her off. "Sydney will be monitoring the rescue mission here. You're welcome to join her if you want." He took his briefcase and started to leave.

"Stop right there." Irina tried to block his way, "Don't you dare try to pull of a bureaucratic move on me."

"Who says I'm doing bureaucracy here?" Jack asked in a challenging tone, "I don't want you there. That's it. I will, however, include Nathan in the mission. He will be disabling the control room from the inside." He let out a deep breath and started to walk past her.

"I'm not going to kill the people who took my daughters, Jack. I'm not that reckless."

He turned to look at her, "Nothing can change my mind, Irina. You're staying. As acting Director of APO, I am ordering you to stay."

"I don't care if you're God." She snapped. "I want to be in this mission." The defiance in her tone cannot be missed. She readied herself for a fight.

He's starting to get exasperated with her stubbornness, "Sydney wants to be in this mission too. But she's going to stay here with Marshall—as with you. We're dealing with Rambaldi followers, Irina, and this is for your safety."

"I can't…" she trailed off and let out a sound of frustration. This was going nowhere.

"Stop being stubborn. You're not going." Jack said with finality and left his office.

Irina suddenly felt that surrendering to the CIA was a big mistake. She hated being ordered around, especially if that person was someone her equal or someone lower than her. She hated being the underling.

She flopped down the chair and shook her head in irritation. She couldn't do much if she's here. She must send someone to help in the rescue, to help Jack and Nathan.

Irina watched Jack walk away from her when an idea suddenly popped in her head. She then stood up from the chair and hurried out to follow him.

-x-x-x-

Martin Seraphim reviewed the map of the city and memorized the roads and the alleyways. Irina called him yesterday and asked if he could assist Jack in retrieving Nadia and Sofya. He didn't have to be asked twice when he agreed. He and the agents, plus Nate, met him in the CIA safe house a few miles away from the mental institution. He's going to be the driver.

"Are you all set?" he looked up and found Agent Dixon standing in front of him.

He put down the map, "Yes, I am." He stood up from the chair, "Are we going?"

"Yes." Dixon answered, "I hope you that the time we gave you were enough to memorize the escape route."

"Oh, it was more than enough." Martin answered casually as he walked beside the agent, "I'll do anything for Irina and her kids."

Dixon looked at him, interestingly, "Your unwavering loyalty is fascinating."

"Irina changed my life drastically. If it weren't for her, I'd probably be dead now. I thank her for that." Martin stared at him as they walked towards the garage, "She's the kind of person who inadvertently instills loyalty to the people she employs."

The CIA agent nodded his head, "I guess she does."

"_Paladin, turn to your right."_

Nathan quietly turned right to one of the openings in the ventilation shaft. Marshall had been giving him directions for the past fifteen minutes.

"_The shaft goes downwards after a few feet. Do you see it?"_

The sleek night vision goggles Marshall supplied him indicated that he was ten feet away from the said hole, "Yes, Wizard. I'm ten feet from it." He whispered.

"_Good. After going down, there will be three ducts. Uh, take the right one… cos, you know… anyway, it will lead you to the control room."_

"Copy that."

He can feel his heart beating out of his chest. His hands were sweating inside his gloves and it felt like it might fall off his wrists anytime. He must finish this task or else, they will have a hard time rescuing his sisters.

A few minutes later, he saw light beaming from one of the ducts. He hastily, but carefully, crawled towards the opening.

Nathan peered into the room and found three men inside. He looked at his watch and realized that the shifts were about to end. He decided to wait for a few minutes so that he wouldn't be encountering any problems when he's disabling the security around Nadia and Sofya's rooms.

Time ticked by. Everything seemed to have slowed down. Nathan's thoughts began to wander. Sofya normally handles the crawling-in-the-ventilation parts of their missions. How could she have tolerated such long waiting?

After minutes of waiting, the guards stood up from their seats (rather joyously, he must add) and started to leave the room. There was a window of fifteen seconds before the guards in the next shift went in.

"_Okay, Paladin. Do your thing."_

He silently unscrewed the shaft and noiselessly lifted the metal. He took his tranquilizer gun and swiftly shot the three men who just went in. When he was sure that they were all sedated, he jumped in to the room and locked the door. He then took one big step towards the control panel, placed the device Marshall gave him and began to connect to APO.

"_You're connected Paladin. You're good to go."_

Nathan began to type several commands on the keyboard in an effort to find Nadia and Sofya's whereabouts in the entire building. After a few seconds, images of his sisters popped onscreen.

"Magician, Outrigger, Evergreen is in the first floor. Almost part of the first level of the sub-basement…" he proceeded to give them instructions on how to reach Nadia, "Raptor, Shotgun, Hyperion is in the third level, at the very end of the west wing…"

"_Copy that."_

"_Copy that."_

_-x-x-x- _

Weiss and Dixon briskly walked to their destination, always keeping their head down, trying not to have eye contact with the other workers. There were only handful of those men but it will not hurt to be cautious.

Their lab coats hid the tranquilizer guns and the other weapons they brought. They would have an easier access if they pretended to be doctors and this idea was better than the swoop and kill method Nathan suggested.

They reached a hallway that was being blocked by metal bars. It then rose up after a few minutes which allowed them to pass through. Nathan is running everything in the control room.

"That boy works fast." Weiss whispered as they walked.

The dreary corridors seem endless. They could hear the shrieks, the groans and the pain from the people behind the doors. The patients were suffering. How could a sane person endure this kind of insanity?

"_Stop there. There's a door to your left. It leads to Evergreen's cell."_

Dixon turned the doorknob, "It's locked." He inspected the door, "Biometric sensors."

"_I think I can override it, wait a sec."_

It took him a few minutes, but it opened. Weiss and Dixon carefully walked in and were welcomed by another hallway.

"_Go straight and then turn right. There will be two men by her door. Two guns each."_

They looked around the corner and saw the two guards sitting by the doorway. They were talking and seemed unprepared for any attack.

Weiss and Dixon looked at each other as they took their tranq guns. They raised their weapons and simultaneously shot the guards. As the men fell down their chairs, the CIA agents hurried towards the door and took a look in the glass window. Weiss saw Nadia strapped in the bed, asleep.

"Paladin, we have visual confirmation of Evergreen." Weiss said as they quickly went in. He began freeing Nadia from her restraints while at the same time checking for any injuries or marks of violence. She hadn't lost a lot of weight, but she seemed exhausted because of the dark circles under her eyes. There were red marks in her hands and arms but it didn't seem serious.

"Eric?"

Weiss looked at Nadia and found her staring at him, "Hey. You're going to be alright." He said and smiled at her. She blinked, as if not quite believing her eyes before closing them and falling unconscious again.

Dixon lifted her up from the bed. Nadia was not as heavy as he had expected.

"Paladin, we have Evergreen."

-x-x-x-

"_Paddy, it's ouch." She said in between sobs as she showed her father her pointing finger._

"_I told you its hot." Her father said and placed a cold compress on it, "Don't do it again, okay?"_

_She nodded her head and then pouted her lips, "But Natey made me do it."_

Her hands were tightly fisted by her side. Her childhood memories, a lot of it with her father, began to play slowly, almost excruciatingly. It was as if her subconscious is taunting her for forgetting.

Suddenly, it changed. Her father's smiling face was replaced by the menacing grin of a man, holding a small metal stick.

"_See, this, little girl?" he asked in Russian, "If you don't go fast enough, I'll have to hit you with this." He made swift whacking motions with the rod to prove his point._

_She understood little of what the man said, but she knew that she had to finish the puzzle they gave her as quickly as she could—this she surmised with the help of little thing with numbers on it which buzzes even when she's not yet finished._

"_No." she said as defiantly as her three-year old self could. She doesn't want to be here, to be in this dark and smelly place._

_The rod hit her fingers. The pain was astounding._

_She shrieked out in pain and pulled her hands towards her chest. She began to cry._

"_No talking."_

The guards by Sofya's room were sprawled in the floor, unconscious. The door, however, was locked and was still being disengaged by Nathan.

Jack peered in the room and found Sofya curled in the bed, her back turned against the wall. He could see her sobbing in her sleep.

The door made a clicking noise and opened. Both Vaughn and Jack burst inside and went towards the girl.

_The timer rang. Six pieces were left unattached to the puzzle. She squeezed her eyes shut as she knew what was going to come._

"_Aww… try better next time."_

_When the rod hit her fingers, she began to wish that this was just another story her mother told her before sleeping. Her paddy will come and get her; she's sure of it._

Jack touched Sofya's shoulder gently. As soon as he did, her eyes flew open. Terror and confusion suddenly appeared on her face but when she saw him, it changed into relief (but still with slight disorientation).

"Paddy?" she asked in a hoarse voice.

He couldn't explain what he felt, but it felt like warmth. He nodded his head and gave her a small smile.

"Can you walk?" he asked before he motioned Vaughn to check the corridors. Nathan had informed them that there was someone heading their way.

She shook her head and tried to sit up. Jack assisted her and held her like she's made out of glass. Sofya looked like she might break into pieces if she made any attempt to stand up.

She began to feel her strength beginning to fade away. She had become dependent on the serum to give her energy.

"Nadia…" she trailed off. Even saying her sister's name took all her strength.

"She's alright." Jack answered. He could see Sofya's eyelids fluttering and he could feel her wilting in his arms. In the corner of his eye, he saw Vaughn drawing his tranquilizer gun and firing.

He lifted his daughter off the bed and headed out the room.

"What do we do with him?" Vaughn asked and showed Jack the face of their 'visitor'. He was better dressed than the workers they have encountered and seemed like a college student.

Nathan's voice resounded in their ear pieces, _"That's Miguel Calderon, the son of the leader of the Shining Sword."_

"Take him with us." Jack said. According to several intel, the Shining Sword is loosely affiliated with Leo Deretoskiev. They might be able to get something viable from him.

Vaughn lifted the young man from the floor and dragged him as they went towards the rendezvous point. Nathan will be the last to reach it since he has to travel through the ventilation shafts again.

"_See you in fifteen."_

_-x-x-x- _

"The device I gave Nate detected another transmission coming from here." Marshall said, "It was a few minutes before Calderon crossed the security cameras.

Sydney crossed her arms in front of her, "Can we pinpoint its direct source?" she asked, "I mean, can we know whose cell phone transmission it came from?"

"That's tricky. But it's challenging. I like that." Marshall remarked and grinned, albeit sheepishly, when he saw the expression on Irina's face, "It might take a few hours, though."

Sydney turned towards her mother, "They're not going to the safe house, are they?"

"No." Irina replied, shaking her head, "Martin's going to drive them to one of my houses in the area."

Sydney sighed, "Okay. I need to call Chase to tell her that the rescue mission went fine." Her worry has been alleviated and she couldn't explain the extent of her relief. Nothing went wrong, even if the whole mission seemed half-baked from the beginning. Nadia and Sofya are okay—as with her father, Nathan, Vaughn, Dixon, Weiss and Martin.

She smiled brightly as she walked towards her father's office.

This nightmare is over.


	53. fifty

**CHAPTER FIFTY**

_24 December 1986_

_The wooden floor softly creaked under her bare feet and she immediately stilled to make it stop. She could hear soft music coming from downstairs and she wondered if Santa had arrived with their gifts._

_She tiptoed towards the stairs and squeezed her little body behind the banister so that she could be hidden from view. Her brown eyes peeked from behind the wooden railing and found her mother and father in the middle of the living room, dancing to the music. Her mother's head is resting on her father's shoulder and they're holding hands._

_A little frown formed in her face. If her mother and father are in the living room, how can Santa come in, put their gifts under the Christmas tree, eat the cookies and drink the milk they gave him?_

"_Nadia, what are you doing?" the whisper was sharp and she knew that when she turn around, her older sister would be standing in the corridor with her hands on her hips._

"_I'm waiting." Nadia answered. Her sister made a face before walking towards her. Both girls could hear their mother's soft laughter tinkling in the living room._

"_If mama and papa are there, will Santa still come?" Nadia asked in a soft voice._

_Sydney nodded her head, "Mommy and Daddy are friends with Santa. He already gave them an early Christmas gift, so maybe our gifts are already there." She added, referring to their future brother or sister growing in their mother's stomach._

_The sisters craned their necks to see if there are any colored boxes under the tree which is, unfortunately, being hidden from view by the sofa._

"_Sweetheart, is it my imagination or do I see two little girls by the stairs?" their father asked and looked at their direction._

_They've been found out! Sydney dragged her away from the stairs and into their room._

"_Quick. Pretend to be asleep!" her sister exclaimed as they jumped to their beds._

_A few minutes later, they heard footsteps coming towards their room. Sydney and Nadia pulled up their blankets and tried not to move (or breathe)._

_The door opened. The light from the hallway streamed inside._

"_See, I told you, you were imagining things." Nadia heard her mother say. She placed a hand over her mouth to stop the giggles from coming out. They fooled their father._

_The door closed. Nadia let out her laugh. Then, a thought crossed her mind, "Syd, what if Santa doesn't come because we fooled papa?"_

"_Don't worry, Nadia. Santa only checks his lists twice before he leaves North Pole."_

She gingerly opened her eyes, afraid that having a wonderful dream, she will be faced with the harsh reality that she's been kidnapped and is being forced to write things that are stored in her brain— things that have preexisted her.

White walls greeted her, but unlike the white walls in her cell (which had a tinge of yucky green), this one seemed to… smile at her. It was a weird description, but that's what she's feeling.

She took a deep breath and rolled on her back. She groaned in relief when she saw that the ceilings are white too and not the murky brown ceiling she had in her cell. The probability that she had really seen Weiss smiling at her in that room seemed to grow greater by the minute.

"Nadia?"

Her mother's voice caught her attention and she swiftly looked towards the sound of her tone.

"Mama." She greeted and tried to sit up, "How are you?" she asked. Her mother looks so tired.

"I'm fine, sweetheart." Irina answered and smiled at her, "Are you hungry? Thirsty? You've been asleep for almost two days."

Nadia nodded her head, "I am a little thirsty."

Her mother stood up and went towards the far end of the room to get the pitcher of water, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel much better knowing that I'm not going to be injected with that red serum again."

Irina handed her the glass of water and sat on the chair, "You don't feel weak? Or maybe a headache?"

Her daughter shook her head, "No. I feel okay, actually." She raised the glass to her lips and the water disappeared after a few seconds. She didn't realize how thirsty she was.

"Do you want more water?"

Nadia handed her the glass, "Yes, please. Thank you." As her mother took another trip to the table, she asked, "Is Iya okay?"

Irina's glanced at her, "She's still asleep." She said and then went back to her side, "But the doctor's said she's okay, so…"

She observed her mother's face. All she could see were lines made by worry and fatigue. Even if she couldn't detect the lie, she could feel it. She's been around a lot of people who could hide their emotions well. She knows when a person lies—sometimes she feels that she's a walking lie detector.

Irina sat beside her on the bed and watched as her daughter drank the water once again. Nadia placed the glass on the side table before giving her a consoling smile.

"She's going to be alright."

Irina embraced her, "I'm so glad you're okay." She whispered.

After a few minutes, they pulled away from each other. Irina smoothed the hair that was covering her daughter's face and sighed.

"Where's Syd?" Nadia inquired and changed the subject as she leaned on the headboard.

"She's with your father and brother. They'll be coming later." Irina answered, "Agent Weiss is outside. Do you want me to get him?"

"Will you mind if he's here?"

An amused smile appeared in her mother's lips, "Of course not. Why would I mind?"

"I don't know." Nadia replied and shrugged. She smiled at her mother, who had stood up to open the door. She saw a change in Irina's face, and she wondered what Weiss had done to make her smile like that.

"He's been worried about you."

-x-x-x-

Nathan is behind the one-way mirror as Vaughn interrogates their prisoner, Juan Miguel Calderon. He has been watching from the start of the questioning, and Vaughn has been asking the same question over and over again. It is a really frustrating way of interrogation.

He heard the door open. He looked behind him and found Jack entering.

"How is Vaughn doing?"

Nathan crossed his arms in front of his chest, "Irritating Calderon. He keeps on repeating the questions. Its so frustrating, it's sad."

Jack stood beside his son and watched Vaughn and Calderon stare at each other. Vaughn exuded patience, smugness even. The young man looked like he wanted to throttle his interrogator. It was a bit amusing since it was like watching a child argue with a broken record.

Nathan took a step back and leaned on the wall, "May I ask you something?"

Jack glanced at him, "What about?"

"When Iya saw you, she called you…Paddy."

A contemplative look passed by Jack's face, "It's what she called me when both of you were still learning how to talk."

"Did I call you that?"

"No. You called me Daddy."

"Oh." Nathan looked at him again, scrutinized his face, before turning his attention back to the 'events' that were unfolding in the interrogation room.

"_I am not privy to those kinds of matters."_

"_So you have no idea whatsoever to the identity of his CIA connection is?"_

"_For the nth time, Agent Vaughn. I. Don't. Know."_

He glanced at his father, "Do you think we should change tactics?"

"We'll wait for a while." Jack answered, "Once he gets tired of the questions, he might give us something pertinent to our investigation."

The ringing of the phone interrupted their conversation. Jack took it from his pocket and received the call.

"Bristow."

The call was brief. As he returned his phone to his pocket, he turned towards Nathan.

"We need to go the sick bay upstairs. Your mother just collapsed."

-x-x-x-

Dr. Murphy looked at the agent in front of him and fixed his glasses before speaking, "_Agent Bristow_, do you remember the time when I told you to get rest?" he started and looked at the clipboard he's holding, "I assumed that you did. Now almost five days after that order, Ms. Derevko collapses. I wonder why."

"Exhaustion. Stress." Jack answered.

"Oh, yes, those two reasons." Dr. Murphy answered with slight sarcasm, "Have you forgotten you're not invincible to those two human afflictions, Jack?" he asked.

"You do know the pressure the division has been facing, Henry." The doctor had been with them a few years after he had joined the Agency. He had been transferred with him when APO was established and Jack considers him a friend.

"Well, the pressure has been slashed in half since you've found your daughters. Get sufficient rest or you'll be sharing the room with Ms. Derevko." He gave Jack a grim smile before turning to leave.

"Henry." His friend looked at him, "Until when will Irina stay here?" he asked. The danger that the mole will get to her, as with Nadia and Sofya, are high.

"Overnight. After we discharge her, bring her somewhere safe and let her rest again." With that, he left him for his other duties.

Jack walked towards Irina's room and entered. He found Nathan inside, talking to her. His son looked at him and read the expression on his face.

"Uh, I'll go see Nadia." He said and exited.

He waited for the door to close before starting, "I told you to rest."

"I did." Irina replied and propped her back on the pillows.

"Then why did you collapse?"

She shrugged, "Maybe time has caught up with me."

Jack took one of the chairs near her bed and sat down. He leaned back and looked at her. Irina looked back. Both didn't say anything, as if they were entranced with their staring. Irina finds him fascinating to observe—there were so much mystery in his face, so many things to explore. On the other hand, Jack wanted to know if she's still wearing a mask. He wants to know if he could give her a higher degree of trust. He wanted to know if his trust could go beyond to that he's giving to her now. He wanted to know all of these with just a look on her face.

He gave up after a few minutes.

"You'll be staying here overnight. For observation." He added and stood up. "Though if I were the doctors, I would have wanted that you stay here for a few days. It will be an assurance that you'll actually get to rest."

Irina tilted her head to the side, "And I assume that I'll still be staying with you when I'm… free of this place?"

"That was the arrangement, wasn't it?" he asked and started to leave.

"I hope you visit Nadia before you leave." She said.

He glanced at her, "That's where I'm going."

Irina smiled at him, "She's been asking about the Christmas before the twins were born. I haven't finished." She saw Jack's eyebrows knotting a bit, "I hope you haven't forgotten."

"Was that when we switched their presents with coal and told them that Santa found out about them fooling their Daddy?"

She smiled even wider, "Yes, that Christmas."

Jack nodded his head, "I'll tell her about it." He said and gave her a small smile. He turned his heel and quietly left.

-x-x-x-

Leo Deretoskiev wordlessly listened to the man speaking in the other line as he watched the various kinds of fishes swim around in the aquarium in front of him.

"_My son doesn't know about the extent of your plans. You don't have to worry about him jeopardizing your operations."_

"Don't you want your son back, Mr. Calderon? He is in the custody of the CIA. We don't know what they might do to him if we don't get him back."

There was a long pause in the other line.

"Are you still there, Mr. Calderon?"

"_Yes, I am."_ The deep timbered voice resounded. It didn't betray the real age of the person talking, _"Miguel was warned of the dangers and the consequences he might face when he joined the organization. Now, he is caught by the enemy. It is up to him to find a way to his freedom."_

He had grown fond of the young Calderon. Miguel is a very intelligent person and very well-adjusted even if it seems that his father doesn't care for him that much. He had treated the young man like a son he never had.

"Are you entirely sure that you don't want to rescue your son?"

"_Let him learn his lesson, Mr. Deretoskiev."_

He hid his sigh, "Very well, then." He ended the call and leaned on back on his leather chair. He brought back his attention to the aquarium again. Looking at fishes swimming about calm him.

His fingers toyed with the remaining manuscripts in his possession. They are unfinished, as Sofya Derevko mixed foul languages in English, Russian, Spanish, Italian, French and German with her translations of the Rambaldi manuscripts.

He glanced at the papers. Nevertheless, the part of the prophecy that he had wanted is in his hands. The moment that he finishes executing Rambaldi's endgame, nothing can stop him.

Nothing at all.


	54. fifty one

**CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE**

(Five days later)

The loud growl of her stomach suddenly pushed her to the realms of consciousness, the sphere of life where she has been absent for the past few days. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a green side table with a handful of scratches on it.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Her eyes roamed around the room, scanning for any clues to where she might be. She could only recall bits and pieces – her father's face, his questions, the sensation of being lifted - and she assume that she could recall only little because those bits and pieces are the only things that she had seen while she was awake.

She could only hope that she's back with the CIA.

There were three needles stuck in her arm. She frowned in disapproval and began to pull them off. There was no clock inside the room and she didn't know what time it was.

She slipped off the bed and stood up. Her knees wobbled slightly, but she managed to stay up on her feet without falling. She began to walk around. She checked the clipboard by the edge of the bed, took a drink from the pitcher of water, discovered a bathroom and washed her face.

After a few minutes, she decided to step out of the room.

She stuck her head outside the door. The hallway was quiet, seemingly deserted. Her stomach grumbling and the continuous droning of… something… are the only things that she could hear. What if she walked around the place to know where she was?

'Sofya, stop it. You don't know who took you.' Her thoughts warned as she looked about. 'Yeah, but you saw _him_, right?'

Doubt lingered in her mind. What if, she's not really back with the CIA? What if someone did take her, but it wasn't her family?

Bravely, she stepped out. The floor was cold under her feet, but she didn't care.

She ran her fingers through her hair (which seemed to have grown longer…)

'What now?'

-x-x-x-

Dreams don't really visit him. If ever they do, it's normally a cut and paste version of the past, with a nightmarish vision in the mix. Normally, inky darkness surrounds his sleep. It knows no time and yet, it always felt like it quickly ends his slumber. He wakes up on his own, with no alarm clocks to rouse him.

This time, it's different. The loud vibration of his cell phone slashed his sleep to a halt. He groggily reached for it in the side table and irritatingly received the call.

"What?" he greeted with annoyance and took a glance at to his right. Irina is sleeping on her side of the bed, flat on her stomach. She didn't hear the noise his phone made.

"_Sir, we have a problem. It's about your daughter…"_

The agent's news jolted him awake. The shock of it the information was more effective than a cup of black coffee.

"Where was security when-"

"_Security cameras saw her come out of her room. She took off the IV's on her arm and it seems that she hasn't left the building. I think we have the situation under control…"_

'Then why did you call me?' he thought with exasperation. Jack sat up, "I'll be there in twenty minutes. Call me if you find her before I arrive." He said. He abruptly ended the call even if the agent in the other line started talking.

He sighed before looking at the digital clock on the table.

2.30 AM.

Jack sighed once again and started to leave the bed.

"Where was security, anyway?"

He flicked on the lamp and turned to look at Irina, "You're awake?" he said with slight suspicion.

She angled her head so that they'll be looking at each other. Half of her face is being covered by her hair and she is hugging the pillow that they use as the boundary of their space. "I've been awake even before your phone started ringing." She answered, "I heard everything."

He didn't doubt that. People with sharp eyes have sharper ears.

"Sofya's missing – again - and you're not worried?"

"The agent in the other line said that they have everything in control. I was going to suggest that they look for her in the break room or wherever there's food, but you suddenly ended the call."

Jack frowned, "What makes you sure she'll be there?"

A small smile formed in her lips, "My knowledge of my daughter's stomach never fails me."

He scrutinized her face for a while before he took his cell phone to call the agent who had disturbed their sleep.

"I want you to check in the break room first." Jack ordered tersely. He waited for an affirmation from the agent and said a curt goodbye before tossing his phone to the side table. He glanced at her again. She's still looking at him.

"I'd better get dressed in case she's not there." He slid away from the bed and started to walk towards the bathroom.

Irina watched him. She's really been awake for almost an hour when the phone rang. It wasn't because she had a horrible dream. She seemed to get less and less of that. It was an unknown force that jolted her awake and it didn't allow her to fall back to sleep.

She heard the shower being turned on. She pursed her lips and rolled on her back. Idly, she stared at the ceiling and hoped that they find Sofya in the break room. They just found her and they're just going to lose her again?

A few minutes later, Jack's phone rang. She looked at it. He had told the agent to call him if they had found Sofya and he's not yet in APO.

"Jack," she called towards the bathroom.

"I can hear it." He answered and after a few seconds, emerged from the shower wearing his boxers.

He hastily picked it up, "Bristow."

"_Sir, we found her in the break room, eating bananas. She says she wants to talk to her Mom before she comes with us."_

Jack breathed out a sigh of relief, "Give her the phone." He handed Irina the gadget, "Your daughter wants to talk to you."

"Hello?" she greeted as she sat up on the bed.

"_Mom?"_

"Yes, sweetie." Irina answered, relieved to hear Sofya's voice.

"_What was Nate's favorite movie when we were seven-years-old?"_

Irina raised a brow. Her daughter seems to be verifying her identity, "Peter Pan. It was your favorite movie too, you know."

She heard an amused sound from the other line,

"_I missed you a lot, Mom."_

"I missed you too, sweetheart. I'll see you later."

"_Okay."_

Irina handed the cell phone back to Jack. She smiled at him teasingly before reclining on the bed again. She closed her eyes and waited for him to finish talking on the phone.

"Are you still going to APO?" she asked when she heard him walking about the room.

"No." the cold shower he took had cleared away the last strands of sleepiness he had. His mind is alert—he will not be able to go back to the land of slumber.

She peered under her lashes, "You'll go back to bed?"

"No, I'll be working in my office." He answered and walked towards the closet to get his clothes. He turned his head to look at her, "Do you want to have breakfast?"

She shook her head, "I'll just stay here. I might be able to fall asleep again." She answered and took the pillow beside her before embracing it. She buried her face into the soft fabric and breathed in Jack's scent.

"Suit yourself." He said and went to the bathroom to change.

After a few minutes, she heard him come out. He took his phone from the table before proceeding towards the door.

"Have fun working." She said, her words muffled by the softness. He didn't respond to her and when she heard door close, she hugged the pillow tighter and wished that she quickly fall back to sleep.

-x-x-x-

"According to some agents and nurses, she had woken up." The mole reported, "I still can't infiltrate the circle of agents Jack Bristow had created to protect them." He glanced at the rearview mirror and made a signal to turn to the right.

"_Could you infiltrate the circle?"_

He nodded, even if the person he's talking to couldn't see him, "They are just a few agents. It will be hard for them to keep on going to all missions. Sooner or later, the others might be asked to join in." he said and sipped his coffee.

"_Don't be too sure of yourself. Always be careful."_

"Yes, ma'am." He replied.

"_I'll be expecting an update on the weekend."_

He took off the earpiece and began to drive at a slow pace since it's still too early to come in the office.

He stopped at a bakery and bought three cinnamon rolls. He also refilled his mug of coffee before he ate his breakfast inside his car. As he munched his bread, he watched the other cars go pass him, its passengers eager to go to their workplaces.

After a while, he looked at his watch. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and started the car.

Its time to go to work.

-x-x-x-

"You've been making breakfast for the past three days." Nadia remarked when she entered the kitchen and found Nathan in front of the stove.

"Its something I enjoy doing. And besides," he turned to his sister, "I'm the one who wakes up the earliest."

She walked towards the counter and smiled at her brother, "You just don't like washing the dishes." She stated and looked at what he was cooking, "Sausages for breakfast. Yum."

"Are you going to work today?"

"Yes, finally." Nadia answered and sniffed the air, "It smells so good, Nate. How did you learn how to cook?" she asked and decided to set the table.

"Its one of the few things we learned during summer. Mama said that it was better for the two of us to pour all our energy into our new hobbies than figure out new ways to hurt each other."

His comment made her look at him. Something flashed in her mind – a memory of some sort – of the time when the family was still whole, complete.

"_Mine!"_

"_Mine!"_

_Nadia watched as her younger brother tugged the toy in his twin's hands. However, it seems that her little sister's tight hold on the plaything was starting to frustrate him._

_He pushed little Sofya's face away and took the toy from her. Sofya responded with a shriek from the top of her lungs._

_Nadia covered her ears with her hands, "Mama, Nate and Iya are fighting!"_

"I have a question." She said and started to operate the coffee maker. Their brother made it clear from the start that he didn't drink coffee that much and he hated making coffee.

"Shoot." Nathan replied as he turned off the stove.

She let out a deep breath and hoped that her inquiry will not seem out of the blue, "Why do you always have fights with Iya?"

Her brother gave a laugh. He glanced at her. A wide smile, which exposed dimples as deep as Sydney's, was present on his face, "That's a hard question to answer." He said and grabbed one of the plates in the open cupboard, "Its fun?" he answered, shrugging.

"Don't you get tired of it?"

"Sometimes. Occasionally, you'd get tired of the peace and so you'd find ways to instigate a little argument." He placed the sausages on the plate and set it on the table. He went to the refrigerator and took out a pitcher of orange juice. He turned to her again, "Why do you ask?"

Nadia shook her head, "Nothing."

"Are you sure you want to go to work today?" he jested, "You could stay home for another day. Dad wouldn't mind."

She froze when she heard a certain word come out of Nathan's mouth. Did she hear him right? Did he call their father…?

Slowly, she faced him with an expression of shock and giddy delight, "You called him Dad. You called Dad, dad!" she exclaimed. She couldn't describe the look on her brother's face. "I heard you, Nate. Don't try to deny it."

"I'm not going to deny anything." He said and suddenly turned serious, "And what I just said will just be between the two of us." He said in a low tone.

She laughed, "What is so wrong with it?" she asked, "I mean, I don't think he'd mind…"

"That's not it."

"Ooh, you want to preserve your tough guy persona, huh?"

"No…" Nathan answered, "I'm not… I'm not ready to call him Dad… or something."

Nadia pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing out loud again, "Fine." She said in a teasing tone, "I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Not a word to anyone, okay? Especially not to Iya." He said, stressing on his twin's name.

She shook her head, "It's not as if she's going to cry mutiny against you if she finds out what you just said."

"Oh, you don't know what she might call me if she finds out about it. Just shush, okay? I'll tell it myself."

Nadia, though amused with her brother's reactions, just nodded her head, "Okay. I'm not going to tell anyone." She giggled a bit before going to a chair and sitting down.

A few minutes later, Sydney stepped in the kitchen. Nathan and Nadia greeted her a good morning.

She glanced at her sister. There is a slightly mischievous twinkle in her eyes when she smiled at her. She's clearly up to something.

"Okay, is there something I need to know about?"

"No." her two younger siblings answered simultaneously. Brother and sister looked at each other before looking at her again.

Sydney raised a brow, "Obviously, you're conspiring against me."

"Oh, Syd." Nadia sighed dramatically and looked at Nathan, "Its Nate's secret and he made me swear."

"I did not." He answered and frowned at her, "It's nothing serious." He said in a stern manner and continued eating his breakfast.

She looked at Nadia, who winked. Her sister then proceeded to eat the sausage, humming quietly as she eyed their brother.

Sydney decided to give up and went towards the counter to get a cup of coffee, "Oh, by the way, Dad called. Iya woke up a few hours ago."

Nadia smiled even wider, "Oh, we can visit her later." She said brightly and sipped her coffee. Her brother gave her a sharp glance, but she just waved it off with a knowing look.

Nathan quickly finished his breakfast and drank the orange juice to its last drop. He excused himself and left the kitchen, but not before he gave his sister a glare of death.

Nadia laughed out loud as he walked out. She caught Sydney's curious look and mouthed the words, 'tell-you-later' since their brother is still in earshot.

She mentally rolled her eyes with the stubbornness Nathan is exhibiting. She's going to respect his wishes, of course because if she tells everyone, she'd probably earn her brother's wrath and cultivate antagonism between Nathan and their father. She doesn't want that.

She ate the last of the sausages.

She's going to go to work today.


	55. fifty two

**CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO**

Marshall straightened his tie and knocked on the glass door before stepping inside Jack Bristow's office. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

"Mr. Bristow, sir?"

He looked up from the paper. It was his signal to come in.

"I have the source of the second transmission—which was coming from this office. It's quite… vague." He said and handed Jack his findings, "I've zeroed in this three, but I still need to eliminate the other two to discover who the real mole is."

Jack read the results, "Do you have any suggestions on how to do that?"

"Uh, maybe we could trick him into communicating with his boss. I cross checked every interferences-pretending-to-be-outgoing transmissions. It seems that the mole uses the other two as some sort of reflective conduction so that he wouldn't be detected."

"If we make him correspond to his employer, he'd still use the other two signals to throw us off."

Marshall shook his head and smiled, "Not if I catch him first. I've tracked down the patterns and all I need is an actual sample of the… erm, pattern." He said confidently.

He expressionlessly thought about his suggestion. Marshall waited for his answer and suddenly felt uncomfortable with the stare Jack was giving him. His thoughts started to drift to Mitchell and Carrie and how fun it would be if they go to the beach this weekend. Maybe have a picnic and then make sand castles and then eat ice cream…

"Marshall."

His thoughts snapped back to work, "Yes, uh, I'm still here."

"We'll discuss it later. In a meeting." Jack said and handed the papers back to him. Marshall gave him a small smile to which was responded by an impassive expression.

Marshall left the office. Sydney met him on the way out and she gave him the most wonderful smile that could light up a dreary day.

'Hmm… maybe Mitchell would want to visit an amusement park. At least there, he could see Physics at work…'

-x-x-x-

"So, mama opened the door and it slammed on my face. I fell down and then she tasered me." Nathan narrated to Sofya the mission they had with their mother. He's sitting at the edge of the bed and they are seated face-to-face.

"She tasered you?" She asked, almost in disbelief. Her brother brought her lunch almost an hour ago. She hadn't eaten it yet because she and her twin haven't stopped talking ever since he arrived.

"Yeah, she did. It hurt—a lot. Mama is really evil when she wants to be evil, you know." He said and then smiled at her, "So, aren't you going to eat your lunch?"

"Mom _is_ evil. And I'll eat my lunch later, thank you very much for reminding me to eat." Sofya replied with slight sarcasm and dismissed the topic with a wave of her hand, "So, you mentioned that you're not staying in a safe house…?"

Her brother nodded his head, "Yup. I can't talk to you about it, but I have a pretty good idea on who's going to be with you."

"That's quite… helpful, Nate."

Nathan grinned, "It's a secret." He laughed a bit and then shrugged, "Are you going to eat your lunch or what? Mama bought it for you."

She took the bag and took a peek. The sweet smell of the chicken wafted to her nose, "Really, she did?"

"Well, mama and _him_." He waited for a few seconds before he observed her face for any violent response. Most of the time, Nathan could predict her reactions to things but there were also times where he didn't have a clue to what she might probably do— and he could liken this cluelessness to their current situation.

"Oh." Sofya replied. She looked at him and smiled a bit, "Are they getting along well?" she asked and took out her food from the bag.

He felt taken aback that she didn't throw a mild tantrum. She watched him as she waited for an answer.

Then, as her question sank in his mind, he remembered the surprising (and slightly… never mind) incident in their father's apartment. He gave her a grim smile, "Yes, they seem to get along fine."

His sister knotted her eyebrows in slight confusion, "Then why do you look so… er, not happy about it?"

"If you were with us when we realized that they were getting along, you wouldn't be asking that question." He said with a slight grimace, "If only you were there…"

"What are you…?" She read the expression on her brother's face and combined it with what he said. The answer that flashed in her mind led to her making an array of facial contortions.

"Eew. Eew, eew, eew! You walked into them!?" She shrieked and covered her mouth. Her eyes are wide in disbelief.

"Oh, god. NO, Iya! That will be, like, the most horrible thing an offspring could ever see!" He couldn't describe the look on his sister's face, but that must be what his facial expression was when he saw their father on that fateful morning.

"Then how did you know!?"

Nathan slightly wrinkled his nose, "Can we not talk about this?"

"Nate, you brought it up." Sofya placed her hands on her hips, "Now, answer my question. How did you know that they…?"

He took a deep breath, "There were marks on their necks."

"Hickeys?" she gasped.

"No! Bite marks."

Sofya let her jaw drop to the floor, "Bite marks?" she repeated in a whisper, "You saw bite marks?"

"**We** saw bite marks. And scratches. And bruises." Nathan put up his left hand when he saw her open her mouth, "Let's stop talking about this. Your innocent mind might not be able to take the burden."

"Do you want me to ask Mom about it?" she asked.

"Ha! Let's see if you'll have the courage to do it." Her brother scoffed, "Sydney turned as red as a fire truck when she asked about it. I have a feeling you'd pass out of nervousness if you ever get the chance to ask mama."

She raised a brow and pressed her lips together. She didn't say anything else and started to eat her lunch.

Sofya couldn't help but think about what they were just talking about. Irina Derevko and Jack Bristow are the most unpredictable of the unpredictable. Maybe she should really ask her mother about it.

"Oh, they have in custody one of the guys who kept you in that mental institution." Her brother said after a while.

She tucked her strands of hair behind her ear, "Who?"

"Miguel Calderon?" The moment Nathan the name left his lips, he saw a change of expression in his sister's face. She bit her lower lip and suddenly became lost in thought. Suspicion snaked in his spine, "Why, did he do anything to you?" he asked in a sharp tone.

"No." Sofya answered quickly, "No, he was nice to me actually. When I met him, he asked me if he could get me anything."

"Did he get you anything?"

She nodded her head, "I asked for water. Unfortunately, I couldn't drink it so…" she trailed off when she remembered her horror when she realized she couldn't swallow the water. She then shrugged her shoulders, "He's nice." She reiterated and resumed eating.

Nathan sighed, "Fine, whatever." He said frowned a bit. Its obvious to him that his sister likes this Miguel Calderon.

After a few minutes, Sofya finished her lunch. They've also been sitting in silence in those few precious minutes.

She cleared her throat, "Uh, going back to the are-they-getting-along topic, did Mom say anything when she realized that, uh, you know that they're getting along?"

-x-x-x-

Jack discreetly observed Irina, as he pretended to read the reports filed by Agent Ratzi. Though they have been 'living' in the same house, eating in the same dining room and sleeping on the same bed, they didn't really talk. Their conversations were shallow—it mostly consisted of suggestions for breakfast/dinner, the weather and if either was hungry. He didn't have the chance to look at her closely because he's afraid of the reaction he might get.

'You're afraid of her!?' If he had said this to an audience, a collective gasp would be heard around the room. He's the person least expected to be afraid of Irina Derevko. To start of, they had lived together for almost fifteen years. They have four children. He knows how her mind works (although he must admit that she's pretty erratic). And the reason why he's somewhat afraid of her was because he doesn't know the extent of his captivation of her.

'That's a stupid reason, Jack.' He thought and stole a glance of her again. She seems to be captivated by the article she's reading.

Irina knew that she was being watched and she had summoned all of her willpower so that she would not look up and stare back. Instead, she poured all her attention on the magazine. The articles were depressing but interesting.

"They found a lead on your intel."

Irina looked up, "That took long enough."

He didn't give any response to her comment and instead leaned back on his chair, "Chase might want you to go to Langley in the following days."

"What for?" she asked and closed the magazine. She then leaned back on her seat and stared at him.

"Maybe they want you to tie up some loose ends. They might also ask Nathan to come too since he was the one who gave evidences and the paper trails." Jack answered.

She didn't say anything. She doesn't have a choice in this matter. She had signed an agreement and she must honor that—another disadvantage of their 'surrender' to the CIA.

Irina took a deep breath "They will be releasing Iya tomorrow. Where do you plan to make her live?"

"She'll stay with us." He answered without hesitation, "I don't know if Sydney and Nadia could control things when Nathan and Sofya start to fight."

If she was taken aback with his decision, she didn't show it. Her expression remained neutral and serious, as if she was thinking of something very profound.

Jack glanced at his watch, "Arvin will be coming back tomorrow. I was wondering if you'd still want to-"

"No." she answered, not letting him finish, "I'll just stay in your apartment, if you don't mind."

He had expected her answer. With a flicker of amusement, he nodded his head and returned his attention to the files on his desk. He looked at one of the folders before taking a quick glance at Irina. She has resumed reading again.

He opened the file. This time, he'll read it for real.

-x-x-x-

"So, where will your sister stay?" Weiss asked Nathan as they walked towards the elevator. Nadia and Sydney are trailing behind them, chatting.

Nathan shoved his hands in his pockets, "With my mother."

"Oh…" Weiss nodded his head, "Does she know about it?" he asked after a few seconds.

"Mama told her a while ago." He replied, "Iya seemed pretty cool with it, so I guess it's safe to assume that she won't try to burn the apartment."

"That's… good to know." Weiss pressed the button to the parking lot, "Does she do that often? Burning houses she doesn't like, I mean."

"Er, not really. But we tried to burn our school once. It was fun—in a morbid kind of way." Nathan answered and waited for a reaction. Agent Weiss is a fun person to work with, and is actually even more fun outside of work. He can see why Nadia likes him a lot.

Incredulity appeared on Weiss' face. He looked at Nathan with furrowed brows, "Really?" he asked. The teenager looked at him with wide amusement. Weiss wondered if Jack will have the same expression if ever faced with an amusing situation.

"We were ten." He said. The elevator doors opened and they stepped in. Weiss placed a hand on the doors to keep it from closing.

"What did your mother do when she found out?"

Nathan smiled, "She did what any mother will do in that kind of situation."

Weiss was unsure of what he's going to answer. Irina Derevko might be an assassin and one hell of a spy, but he doubts if she approves of her progeny burning things for fun. It took him a few seconds to answer, "Uh, she spanked you."

"Why do you sound like you don't believe what you're saying?" Nathan asked, and grinned, "Irina Derevko can be a normal person too."

Weiss threw up his hands, "I didn't say anything in that context, Nate." He said, "You're mother is surprising."

"Don't tell that to me. Tell it to her."

"I don't know how Jack will react." He said.

Nathan raised a brow, "Maybe he'll agree with you."

Weiss wasn't able to respond because Sydney and Nadia entered, laughing. They smiled at the two women who smiled back at them.

"So, guys. Do you want to eat at home or somewhere else?"

-x-x-x-

_It will be darkness that takes me, but it will be the light that will get me back. I've been waiting all my life to see my greatest work be fulfilled and I know that my life will be cut short before I see it. Circumstances, however, will allow me to live again and I will see to it that it will be accomplished duly._

_Death will surely come to these four children, for they are the descendants of the man I hated, but in the end, only two will live. In the great battle, one will kill the other, fulfill the prophecy and bring me to life everlasting. Only two of his seeds will see me in my glory._

_Immortal life shall be given to those who followed me. Death shall come to those who have forsaken me._


	56. fifty three

**CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE**

She sneezed.

Then sneezed some more.

Irina has lost track of Sofya's sneezing. When she had arrived from the hospital yesterday, the men Jack hired to fix the empty room hadn't finished cleaning up. Sofya was allergic to dust, and unfortunately, her nose and her skin had reacted quickly to the allergens. Those things were cluttered around the apartment— Jack doesn't know how to dispose of all those things (or maybe he didn't want to throw them away, who would really know, anyway?)

"I think my nose is going to bleed if I don't stop-" she sneezed, again "-sneezing." She told her mother and pinched her nose. Her eyes are red and she could feel it watering. After a while, though, she began scratching her arm.

"Stop doing that." Irina ordered, handed a piece of tissue paper to her daughter and sat down next to her.

"But it's itchy." Sofya complained and began to vigorously rub other parts of her body. Her arms and her face were slowly turning as red as her eyes.

"Stop scratching, Sofya! It will only get worse!" her mother barked in Russian, "And stop whining. You sound like you're six years old when you gripe."

She made a face, but it was cut short by another sneeze, "Oh, when will this end?" she lamented and pinched her nose again. She could feel another 'involuntary' spasmodic attack coming. Her skin also seemed to be begging to be sheared off.

"Your father's going to be here in a few minutes with your medicine. Just be patient." Irina said in slight exasperation. She looked at her daughter and suddenly felt bad that she couldn't do anything to help her. She reached out and caressed Sofya's messy hair.

She glanced at her mother and pouted, "You know, I noticed that…" she trailed off and her face wrinkled before sneezing, "Oh good lord." She muttered and rubbed her nose.

"What did you notice?"

"You don't really talk to _him_." Sofya answered, "When Nate told me that you two were… uhm, getting along, I assumed you have conversations and stuff like that."

Irina raised a brow, "We have conversations everyday."

Her daughter rolled her watery eyes, "Mom, I've only stayed here for a night but I can tell whether the dialogue between the two of you is robotic or not." She said and scraped her nails against her neck.

"I think you'd better get used to it, sweetie." She said and took hold of Sofya's wrist to stop her from scratching.

"Were you like that before? You know, when you were still together?" the teenager asked after sneezing three times.

She opened her mouth to reply, but was stopped when she heard the door opening, "Your medicine is here." She said to her daughter, who rose up the chair.

Jack appeared after a few seconds and handed Sofya the small plastic bag. She quickly took it and headed straight towards the kitchen.

He sat beside Irina and sighed. There were a lot of people in the drugstore and he had a hard time squeezing in line. He'd been gone for thirty minutes, but in that short span, Sofya's pale face became as red as a ripe tomato.

"Did you conveniently forget to tell me that Sofya was allergic to dust?"

She glanced at him, "I assumed you knew. I didn't realize that you've forgotten about her allergies."

"She wasn't allergic to it when we separated." Jack replied since he clearly heard the annoyance in her tone.

"Yes, she was." Irina said, "You were the one who brought her to the doctor. You thought the spots on her arms and neck were rashes." She crossed her arms in front of her and stared at him. It was as if her glare could make him remember the incident.

He raised a brow and tried to recall what she's talking about. He shook his head after a few minutes, "I don't remember it."

She didn't say anything and averted her eyes from him. What's the point in arguing about it? It's the past for crying out loud!

Sofya appeared again after a few minutes. She has stopped sneezing, but she's still scratching her arms, "I'm sorry, Mom, but its really itchy." She said.

Irina turned to Jack, "Do you have an anti-itch cream?"

He shook his head, "I don't have one." He stood up and walked towards the dining room, "The medicine will probably get rid of the rest of your irritation." He added and glanced at them.

"I'll need help in the kitchen." Jack announced before he left. The rest of his children will be coming over for lunch and they will be preparing half of what they're going to eat.

Sofya looked at her mother. She's vigorously rubbing her neck. She will not be able to lend a hand, "I'll do the dishes later." She said and offered an apologetic smile.

She sighed, "Fine." She said and followed Jack to the kitchen

Sofya couldn't help but feel amused. She heard their little argument a while ago and felt that her mother and father are acting a little bit like children. If their attitude goes on, she will have no choice but to act as a mediator between the two.

She flopped down the sofa and took the remote control. She leaned back and turned the television on.

-x-x-x-

"It was the weirdest lunch ever." Sofya whispered to Sydney as they loaded the plates in the dishwasher. Irina, Nathan and Nadia are in the living room, checking out the things that the cleaning men took out of the room Sofya is occupying.

"Why is that?" Sydney asked and looked at her sister.

Sofya shrugged, "Well, they weren't glaring at each other. I mean, they were having a very heated argument a few minutes before you guys showed up. And then they talked during lunch like nothing happened."

"Wait, are you talking about Mom and Dad?"

Sofya rolled her eyes, "Duh. I was surprised they didn't try to kill each other since the knives were in their reach." She loaded the last of the dishes and closed the dishwasher. She then turned it on and took the empty pitcher of water.

"What were they arguing about?" Sydney asked as she took the damp cloth in the sink.

Her younger sister shrugged, "I don't know. I heard Sloane, Langley, Chase and agreement." She turned on the faucet and filled the pitcher.

"Are you saying you didn't try to eavesdrop?" Sydney asked in mock astonishment.

Sofya shook her head, "I didn't want to. Well, not yet, anyway."

Sydney gave a small laugh, "Keep us updated when you decide to start to _listen_ to their arguments."

Her sister laughed, "Yeah, sure." She turned off the faucet and brought the pitcher to the fridge. As she placed the jug inside, a thought popped in her mind.

She turned towards Sydney, "Syd?"

Sydney glanced up from the table.

"Do you think the apartment is bugged?"

-x-x-x-

(A few days later)

"I don't understand why I have to go and Iya can't." Nathan complained as he and his mother climbed up the SUV, "She's very much a diabolical planner as I am."

"They want her to interrogate a prisoner." Irina answered, "Of course, since we signed an agreement, we couldn't say no." she closed the door. The agents accompanying them are outside, waiting for their orders.

"Well, if we didn't turn ourselves in, we wouldn't be doing this. We'd be free." Nathan sarcastically responded and crossed his arms in front of him. A small frown appeared on his face as he stared straight ahead.

"Everything I'm doing is for your own good." She turned to look at her son, "So don't give me that condescending tone again, Nathan."

He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He knows that she was irritated that they have to go to Langley. It mystified him when he thinks about his mother's decision. She didn't like being ordered around and being cooped inside one place and yet, it crossed her mind to surrender to the CIA.

'Well, she already did it once. What's going to stop her from doing it again?' he thought and tried to think of other things.

A few minutes later, Weiss opened the passenger's side of the car. He slipped inside before facing them, "We'll be arriving in the airport in fifteen minutes. Did Jack explain to you the…?"

"Yes, he did." Irina answered. He had explained their cover and what they will do in Langley in a curt, no-nonsense way. The way Jack spoke to them annoyed her.

"Oh, uh, great. I'll be escorting you to Langley." Weiss said. Sloane ordered him this task because Vaughn will be accompanying Sofya when they interrogate Juan Miguel Calderon. Vaughn will also be Sydney's contact once she's finished with her mission in Cuba.

Seconds later, they were revving out of the garage and into the streets of LA. Weiss glanced at the rearview mirror. Irina is quietly looking outside the window. Her expression is unreadable but she seemed somewhat aggravated. Nathan looked like he wanted to be anywhere but inside the car.

Weiss sighed, 'This is going to be the longest five days of my life.'

-x-x-x-

Sofya Derevko silently walked next to Michael Vaughn as they headed towards the elevator. Arvin Sloane, via her father, asked her to talk to Juan Miguel Calderon because he (Mr. Sloane) had a feeling that she can make the young man give them information. Vaughn will be guiding her on the questions.

They stepped inside the lift. It was a tight space and she suddenly felt nervous. She hates being inside a very small room.

"Does it bother you that you're in CIA custody?"

The question made her look at him, "Why? Does it bother you?" she asked back.

Vaughn didn't answer her. Sofya immediately knew that her mother was the reason for that question. She knows that Vaughn's father was killed by her mother. And she knows that Vaughn will do anything so that he won't be able to see or talk to Irina Derevko.

She took a deep breath, "A lot of people hate my mother for the things she did and didn't do and you're one of those people. I could defend her to high heavens, but that would be absolutely fruitless."

Vaughn didn't say anything and just looked at her.

"Don't mistake my reluctance to defend her as… contempt. I love my mother very much. I just don't want you to think that I turn a blind eye to the horrible things she had done."

"I'm not implying that you're—"

Sofya shook her head, "Agent Vaughn, its okay." She gave him a small smile, "Sometimes, its hard to struggle with the awful truth."

The elevator halted. Sofya held her breath and waited for the doors to open.

As they walked towards the interrogation room, Vaughn began to enumerate several things to remember when asking questions.

"What if he refuses to give something usable? Can you threaten him?"

"What will you use to threaten him? You can't chop off his fingers or his ears. It's not allowed."

"Uh, threaten him with solitary?"

Vaughn shook his head, "It's not an effective threat." They reached the end of the hall, "If you don't know what to ask anymore, just look at me. I'll take it from there."

"Okay."

He opened the door and let her walk in first. Both braced for the possible uncooperativeness of their prisoner.

Halfway through the introductions, Vaughn immediately noticed that Calderon couldn't keep eye contact with him. His focus seemed to be on Sofya.

"What's this all about?" Miguel Calderon asked and tried not to stare at the girl in front of him.

'Was he fumbling with his words?' Vaughn thought and glanced at Sydney's little sister. He looked at their prisoner and knew that they will get viable intel from him.

Half an hour later, Juan Miguel Calderon had given them names of contacts, an overview of Leo Deretoskiev's inner circle and information on the Rambaldi manuscripts. Calderon had given more information in thirty minutes with Sofya than three-and-a-half hours with him.

"So, if his info checks out, we could do something to infiltrate Hakim Zapphar's security and get a copy of the manuscripts?" she asked as they left the room. She couldn't remember the things she wrote, but she could remember the dreams she had.

"Yes, but its not going to be easy."

Sofya nodded her head. Of course—nothing is easy.

"Hey, uh… Nate sort of mentioned that my Aunt Katya is…?"

"You want to visit her?" Vaughn asked.

She gave him a sheepish glance, "Sort of. I don't think she knows that I was the one who tranquilized her and left her in Belgium for you to find."

"You were the one who tied her up?"

"Yeah, that was me." Sofya said.

Vaughn looked at his watch. Sydney will be meeting her contact in fifteen minutes, "I can take you to her, but I have to get back. Syd's going to be online in fifteen." He doesn't see anything wrong with letting Sofya see Katya Derevko—and Jack didn't say anything about it.

"Oh, that's okay. I know how to get back to your office."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded her head, "Elevator, press 1 twice, press 2, 7, 6 and then press 5."

He stared at her directly in the eyes, "Don't try to leave. Jack will… he'll kill me. And when he finds you, he'll probably send you to a cell or something."

"Don't worry. I won't do anything out of the agreement."

And then, she smiled at him.

-x-x-x-

"_I've never seen you dance."_

Vaughn leaned back on his chair. Sydney has finished with the intel-swapping and is ready to go home, "Well, I'm a mysterious man. There are a lot of things you don't know about me." He said, grinning.

"_You've never once taken me dancing."_

He smiled, "Okay. Let's go dancing." He heard her giggle in the other line.

"_Really?"_

"Yeah, sure." She laughed and Vaughn couldn't help but smile. Hearing her laugh makes him happy.

"_But you hate dancing."_

"And yet, I'm taking you. Like I said, I'm very mysterious. Do you see your driver?" he inquired when he heard the sound of a car engine.

"_Yeah."_

"Have a safe trip." He said with a smile and took off the comm link in his ear. In the corner of his eye, he saw Dixon coming in with a briefcase in one hand. He let out a deep breath, knowing that they are one step closer to foiling the Third Faction's plan. And when Sydney gets home, the mission will be deemed a success.

He stood up from the chair and went out of the conference room. Sydney will be calling in again when she reaches the airport.

He looked around. He couldn't see Sofya anywhere. He went to his desk to call the guards upstairs.

Suddenly, a small explosion echoed in the office. He turned towards the direction of the noise and saw smoke coming from Jenkin's office. He was rushing towards the room when the lights started to flicker. An alarm blared all throughout the workplace and after a few seconds, the power died.

The building just went into lockdown.

-x-x-x-

Marshall hurriedly went out of his car and gathered his things. He's very late and Sloane will be very irritated. He has to do work on the hard drive Dixon retrieved. If he isn't there they might not be able to stop the Third Faction from blowing up cities.

His cell phone rang. Knowing that it's Sloane, he quickly pressed his earpiece and locked his car.

"_Lockdown protocol 4 Alpha Charlie, confirm?"_

Marshall dropped his things and began to set up his laptop.

"_Confirm!"_

He began typing swiftly and checked the entire system, "Yeah, sorry. 4 Bravo Delta confirm. Firewall networks are secure. We haven't been hacked... Is this a drill?"

"_Unfortunately not. A nerve agent has been released inside APO. We have neutralized the threat but our exposure is still a biohazard outside the office. Until we get cleared, no one comes in or out of here."_

Marshall began to check the other part of the security. The surveillance cameras are all working in all the corridors and the elevators. Sloane started to tell him to stay on the line because they will once again run a diagnostic test on the system.

He could hear his colleagues bustling about in the background. Vaughn is calling Sydney on the phone. She hasn't called in from the airport and the flight hasn't been confirmed yet.

Suddenly, Sydney's voice rang in his earpiece.

"_I'm not sure. They... dragged me to a cemetery and knocked me out, and I woke up in a... coffin."_

Marshall felt shock course through his veins, "Syd, are you uh... have you been buried?"

Her answer was a whisper, _"Yes."_

He could only feel horrified when she went on to say that her contact is dead and is buried with her. Who's going to save her? They are in a lockdown!

"Uh, um, ex–excuse me. Listen, I know you told me you'd let me know if you need anything but... I could do it. I could go to Cuba." He volunteered. Part of him thinks he's insane to be volunteering to rescue Sydney.

"_Wait a minute, Marshall? You're-you're not into lockdown with the others?"_

"No, Syd, listen… Mitchell this morning—it's a long story. How many bars do you have on your cell phone?"

"_Four."_

"Good. That's excellent. Anyway, every cell phone has a traceable frequency. If we can get a locator…"

"_But there's no way to get the op-tech to you."_ Jack interjected.

"I could rig one in-country. I mean, the only thing is, Syd, you'd have to stay off the phone while I'm traveling, ya know, just to conserve the battery." Marshall said, "I can do this, don't worry." He doesn't know if he's trying to assure Sydney or himself. Sloane began to dictate his orders and procedure. He mentally wrote everything down as he hastily picked up the things he dropped.

After a few seconds, he heard a click on the other line. Sydney must have hung up already.

He was going to pack up his laptop when he found something strange in the monitors. Thinking that it might be another problem, he typed quickly the commands and immediately found the 'strange' thing.

"Uh, Mr. Sloane?" he said, staring at the screen.

"_What is it Marshall?"_

"Sofya's trapped in the elevator."


	57. fifty four

**CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR**

"You said you got a bottle of water and a chocolate bar from the vending machine?" Nadia began to twist the telephone cord around her fingers. She's in the security room, talking to Sofya. The elevator stopped midway to APO when the building went into lockdown.

"_Yeah, I did."_ Sofya's voice is timid, almost below a whisper. She doesn't sound like she's freaking out inside the elevator, but Nadia could see in the close-circuit televisions that her sister is frantically walking around.

"Okay, try to make it last. We might be stuck here for thirty-six hours."

"_Thirty-six hours!?"_

She heard the panic in her voice, "Iya it's going to be okay." She said when her sister began to cry. They are trapped in the office with light, food, lots of space and a bathroom while Sofya is stuck with very little of the first three and no bathroom at all.

"_Nadia, I don't want to be in here…"_

"Iya, its alright." She tried to comfort her sister. She will not, however, tell her that Sydney has been buried alive. It might add an even greater deal of stress. She watched as her sister sat on the floor and leaned her head against the wall.

The door to the security room opened. She glanced towards it and saw their father coming in.

"_I'm not going to run out of air will I?"_

She looked at Jack, "That's what I… don't know." Are there air filters in the elevator? She doesn't know, but she's pretty sure that when the building was designed, they took in the possibility that someone might get stuck in the elevators during lockdown.

Jack made his way towards her, "Have you told her about Sydney?"

She shook her head. Her father then held out his hand, as if asking her to give him the phone.

"Okay, Dad wants to talk to you." Nadia said as she disentangled her fingers from the cord. She then looked at Jack before she handed the phone to him.

"Sofya."

"_Please get me out of here. Please."_

"We can't do that right now."

His daughter began to sob. He couldn't bring himself to look at the screens. He knows that she's been in this kind of situation before and he knows this because he was there when it happened.

When Sofya was two years old, she got locked inside a storage room. She couldn't reach the light switch and was trapped in darkness. He couldn't get her out because the doorknob was jammed and she was inside that room for almost a day. Even if he was just by the door, she couldn't stop crying and when he finally got her out, she clung to him like she'd never let go.

"_Why?"_ she asked in a soft voice. She sounded so much like the little girl he once knew.

"Sydney's in trouble. Marshall's going to get her and he needs… guidance." Jack answered, "But you can call us anytime. As soon as we get your sister out, we'll get you out of there."

"_Okay."_

He heard the silent desperation in the acquiescing tone, "Are you okay?" he asked and looked at the screen. She's sitting on the floor, facing a corner. Her back is turned from the camera.

"_A little."_ She sniffled, _"Go and help Mr. Flinkman. I'll be fine."_

"Make your food last. You don't know how long you'll be staying there."

"_Okay."_

It feels wrong to just hang up. He looked at Nadia who gave him an encouraging smile. How can he say goodbye to a claustrophobic inside a small elevator?

"You're not going to run out of air there, the air filters are working. Just call us if…" he trailed off. He doesn't know what else to say.

Jack could tell that she's trying to keep herself from crying. He sighed, "I'm… I'm hanging up now." he placed the phone back to its cradle. He then looked at the agents manning the room.

"Direct all her calls to the conference room. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." One of the men said.

Jack took one last glance at the monitors before he and Nadia left the room. Once they get Sydney out of a coffin, they'll have to get Sofya out of the elevator.

-x-x-x-

Sydney tried to compartmentalize her fear as she ran her hands alongside the coffin. She could hear and feel it creaking— the weight of the soil is weakening the foundation of her wooden tomb.

She anxiously looked around. She knows that she shouldn't move that much but she must find a way to know where Ulrich will be going next. Her father and the rest of APO can track him down and stop his plan.

Her eyes fell on the dead body beside her.

Phantom.

She went still. Suddenly, an idea appeared in her mind. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

Sydney took her phone and called Vaughn.

"We can ID him."

"_Who?"_

The sound of Vaughn's voice comforted her, "Phantom, my contact. I can send you his picture. You can check it against airport surveillance, inbound flights to Cuba. Get visuals of the other members of Third Faction and… track that against where they've been and where they're– where they're going…"

She's starting to feel hazy. She must be losing oxygen inside the coffin.

"_Send the photo."_

Her father's voice slightly jolted her mind back to action. She took Phantom's picture and sent it to Vaughn's phone.

"_Okay, Syd. We got it, we're indexing it now."_

She took a deep breath, "Vaughn?"

"_Yeah, I'm here. Can you hear me?"_

"I know what he looks like." She said. Had she said that before? She couldn't remember. They need to find out who her contact is so that they will know where to find Ulrich.

"_Syd, we got the picture. We're working on it."_

"We can check it against airport surveillance." She murmured. What did Vaughn say?

"_Syd, you already said that."_

"And he wasn't alone. We can find out where he's been, where he's going…" she trailed off. Maybe she should stop talking. Vaughn knows what to do. Maybe he already received Phantom's picture. She should say goodbye… she's getting sleepy.

"Vaughn…" she said and tried to relax her body and level her inhalation. She needs to conserve air.

"_Syd, I'll put you on hold."_

She heard a click on the other line and then silence. She placed her cell phone on her chest and tried to keep herself awake.

Time seemed to have stilled. She suddenly felt like she's been waiting for hours. Her eyelids began to droop and her hands felt like they're made out of lead.

"_Syd. Marshall is on his way. We'll be dancing before you know it."_

"Yet, my feet touch the ground." She said softly. Was that Vaughn? She couldn't tell if she's hallucinating or not. Didn't he put her on hold?

"_What was that? Sydney?"_

"Vaughn?" It is him. Sydney took her phone, but it suddenly beeped twice. She's getting a weak signal.

"My phone is dying… Vaughn?" she called out his name again.

"_Syd, Marshall's there. Hang on."_

She could sense that she's running out of oxygen. Sydney hoped that Marshall could get to her on time.

She began to wheeze slightly.

"_Syd? Sydney?"_

Her phone began to blink, a signal that she's running low on battery. She could her Vaughn's voice but she doesn't understand what he's saying.

"Vaughn? Vaughn!?" She looked at her phone and after a few seconds, it flashed a message.

_Goodbye._

Her phone died and left her in the darkness. She felt bile rising up her throat. What if Marshall couldn't find her? What if he's too late? She has encountered life-threatening situations before, but this was the first time that she felt powerless. How could she fight six feet of soil?

She held her breath and tried not to panic.

'Marshall, where are you?'

-x-x-x-

There was little light inside the elevator and it didn't help in alleviating her fear. Sofya tightly hugged her knees for solace. Perhaps if she makes her body smaller, the space would seem bigger.

She hated small spaces. Ever since she was a child, she was afraid of being trapped in the broom closet or inside the little room in their attic— the small space seemed to choke her to death. She didn't like elevators but she feels safe when there are three or four people inside it. This was because she knew that if ever they get trapped, there would be someone with her—someone who will probably be braver than her.

She took a deep breath. Her father said she'll not run out of air. She hopes he's right.

Sofya looked at the telephone. She will not call them – not yet, anyway – because they have to help Mr. Flinkman in rescuing Sydney. She will not bother them. She doesn't even know what kind of trouble her sister is in but she hopes that Mr. Flinkman will be able to help her.

Everyone is downstairs, doing something helpful. She, on the other hand, is isolated from them. She's trapped in the elevator doing nothing but to cry.

This is the first time she felt so alone. Leo Deretoskiev's kidnapping didn't count—she didn't feel alone because was either asleep or was possessed by the Rambaldi fluid.

She bit her lower lip and wished that her brother was with her. Nathan was a constant presence in her life and vice-versa. They've been together all throughout their lives.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of things that are not related to food. She couldn't afford to think of food when she has so little of it right now.

'Biological diversity or biodiversity refers to a variety of life forms: the different plants, animals, and microorganisms, the genes they contain, and the ecosystem they form…' she mentally recited, 'This living wealth is the product of hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary-"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. She stretched out her legs and reached out for the receiver.

"Hello?" she tried not to let her apprehension show in her tone.

"_How are you?"_ it was Vaughn.

"I feel… better than a while ago." She replied. "Is Syd okay?"

"_Yeah. Marshall saved her. She's all right, she's safe."_

She can tell that he was very relieved with the news. She smiled slightly and took a deep breath, "Are they going home?"

"_No, they still have something to do."_

"Oh." Sofya replied, "How many hours do we have to wait until we're cleared of biohazards?"

"_Uh, thirty-three and a half hours, give or take."_

She fell quiet. Tears began to prickle her eyes, "Okay." She said and hoped that she sounded nonchalant. How can she last thirty-three hours inside this… place? Will she be still alive after those hours?

"_Are you sure you're feeling okay?"_

She held back the lump of tears that formed in her throat, "Yeah, I'm fine." She said, lying through her teeth. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of other things.

"_Do you want to talk to Nadia?"_ Vaughn asked. He's not convinced that everything's fine and dandy inside the elevator, _"Or maybe your father?"_

"Maybe Nadia." She replied. She might not be able to stop crying if she talks to her father.

"_Wait, I'll call her."_

She crawled towards the other corner and leaned on the wall. Seconds later, Nadia picked up the receiver at the other line.

"_Hi. Are you okay?"_

-x-x-x-

Hours later

"You know how the building was designed, Jack. You won't be able to get Sofya out of that elevator unless we get out of lockdown." Sloane said as he stood by the doorway of Jack's office

He looked up from his desk, "There's no harm in trying."

"It's not going to lead you anywhere." Sloane entered the room, "Sofya's not in imminent danger. She's your daughter. She'll cope with it."

"My daughter has claustrophobia."

"Then her current situation will make her stronger." He answered, "You're concerned, I understand that, but we can't do anything about it."

Jack sighed, "You're right." He took a glimpse towards the boardroom and found Nadia talking on the phone. She must be talking to her sister.

Sloane glanced to where he's looking. He shook his head and brought his attention back to Jack. The man seemed conflicted.

"You'll be prolonging Sofya's anxiety if you wait longer to tell her about waiting for twenty-four more hours." He said after a few minutes.

Jack sighed once again and stood up from his chair. Sloane turned to leave.

He was on his way to his office when Vaughn caught up with him.

"Sir, we have an ID on Phantom."

-x-x-x-

Twenty-four hours and thirty minutes later

Nadia took a peek inside the clinic and found her sister sitting on one of the beds, being attended by one of the nurses. It seems that they're checking her heart beat and blood pressure.

After thirty-six hours, they're finally free to leave, but they were still checked by doctors to make sure that the toxin didn't get into their system. She was cleared immediately, but Sofya wasn't.

She could see from where she's standing that Sofya is quite pale. One of the nurses gave her an oxygen mask and asked her to recline on the bed. Her sister made a face, but followed the order.

They checked her vital statistics again and after several minutes, one of them left.

"Will this be long?" Nadia asked when the door closed.

The woman shook her head, "I don't know, but she'll be able to go home tonight, don't worry." She answered, smiling at her.

"May I go in?"

"Sure, we're almost done."

Nadia smiled back at her before she entered the room. Sofya's face brightened when she saw her.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asked as she approached the bed.

Her sister gave two thumbs-up before taking off the oxygen mask, "I feel much better." She said and then returned the mask back to her face when the nurse gave her a warning glance.

She felt relieved that her sister sounded better. She didn't really talk when they were on the phone— Sofya could barely say more than three sentences.

The other nurse finished her notes and then turned to her, "Please let her stay for a while. When we get back she may leave." She said in a kind tone and smiled.

Sofya waited for the woman to leave before taking off the mask again, "I'm hungry." She said and pulled up to sitting position.

"Well, we could eat dinner with Dad later." Nadia replied and sat down at the edge of the bed, "Is that okay with you?"

Sofya shrugged, "Sure. Whatever." She angled her head and observed her sister's face. She looked tired, "Are you sure you want to eat or do you want to go to sleep?"

"I'll eat first." Nadia answered.

She gave her a small smile. At the corner of her eye, she saw her father standing by the door of the room. She looked at Nadia and motioned her to look at the doorway.

Nadia saw their father through the glass pane. She stood up and opened the door.

"Hey, Dad. We were just talking about you."

Her father raised a brow; "Really?" he asked when he stepped in.

"Iya's hungry." She explained, "She can leave when the nurse comes back." She added as she walked back to the bed.

"Are you hungry?" Jack asked, directing the question to his youngest daughter.

Sofya nodded her head. Her stomach has been grumbling for food eons ago. She wanted to leave right now!

He looked at his watch before shoving his hands in his pockets. He glanced at Sofya. She doesn't look like she'd been through hell, but there's something about the glint in her eyes that says she's unhappy.

Nadia looked at her father, "Dad, have a seat." She said, "You look tired."

Jack shook his head, "I've been sitting for the past three hours." He gave her a small smile to appease her, "When will the nurse be back?"

"She didn't say anything." Sofya replied. She could feel her stomach grumbling again and she wished that the nurse hurry up.

Dr. Murphy went in a few minutes later.

"Jack, your daughter can go." He said and smiled at both girls. The news brought a big smile to Sofya's face and she jumped out of the bed eagerly.

"Take care." Dr. Murphy said as they started to leave. Jack nodded his head and shook his friend's hand as the neared the door.

-x-x-x-

There was a sea of people coming in and out of the station—hundreds of businessmen, teenagers, men and women, going about with their lives. Some are eager to go home; others are begrudgingly going back to work, while a certain few are running away from their problems and unhappiness.

Vaughn is walking across the floor, looking for Sydney. He knows that when everything seems to go wrong and crazy, she seeks comfort in the bustling energy of the train station. She loves watching people interact—it reminds her that not everyone is bent on world domination.

He saw her sitting on one of the benches, looking at the other direction. He approaches her and as if on cue, she looks at him. He smiles and holds out his hand.

Sydney took his hand and smiled warmly in return. He gently pulled her up from the bench.

"May I have this dance?" he said in a soft tone.

She grinned at him and he gently twirled her under his arm. Her smile was so radiant and he pulled her closer so that he could see more. It feels great to have her in his arms again.

"Thank you." Sydney whispered to his ear, "For being there at the other end of the line." She said and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Vaughn gazed into her eyes as they swayed slowly, dancing to a tune that only they can hear. He rested his face against hers, "Anything for you."

She couldn't wipe the grin off her face. She will not be able to tell him (or the world) how happy she is right now. She has escaped death and was given another chance to live her life. She must relish every minute of it.

Vaughn looked at her again and gave her a sweet smile.

She thought that this is the best moment of her life.


	58. fifty five

**CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE**

The sun wasn't up yet when he opened the curtains. It's still very early but he couldn't get back to sleep. There are just too many thoughts swirling in his mind and he couldn't make it stop.

He glanced at the empty bed. He rarely slept on it ever since he moved into this apartment. He'd either doze off in his study or in the living room. But when Irina came to stay with him, everything changed. At first, he slept on the bed with her because of her nightmares. There was nothing wrong with that.

Now, he sleeps on the bed because he wants to be near her— even if he decreed that they stay on their respective sides.

'What is she doing to you, Jack?' he thought as he opened the windows. He took in a deep breath. The air is cool, but he knows that when the sun comes up, the temperature, too, will go up.

After a few minutes, he walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. He should probably fix breakfast as Sofya wakes up quite early. When she's the first one in the kitchen, she normally takes the responsibility of making breakfast but she only knew how to cook eggs (scrambled, sunny-side up, soft boiled and hard boiled) and he was not in the mood to eat any of those today.

When he stepped inside, he found his daughter seated on one of the chairs and reading the instructions printed on the box of pancake mix. Her hair is tied up in a loose ponytail and she's wearing a big, ratty shirt over an equally ratty pair of shorts. She's also wearing her eyeglasses.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

Sofya looked at him, "Reading the instructions on how to make pancakes." She said after she stared at him for a few minutes, "I woke up early and I was hungry. We only have one egg and that's not enough for the two of us."

He raised a brow, "Do you need any assistance?"

She shrugged. He's awake, there's nothing she can do about that. And besides, she really doesn't know how to execute the first two steps in the directions, "You can take the measurements." She suggested, "I'm quite… horrible with measuring."

Jack approached the cupboards and took out two bowls, a measuring cup and a wooden spoon.

"I'll mix the batter. That's the best part." His daughter said and stood up from the chair. She took the egg from the fridge and waited for him to finish filling the measuring cup with water.

"Beat the egg in the other bowl first." Jack instructed.

She did what he asked, but she took a glance at him when he gauged the ratio of the pancake flour to the water. She found that he's fully concentrated on the task. Nathan has the same expression on his face whenever he tries something new.

"Okay, pour the egg into the bowl then you can start mixing." Jack said after a few seconds. Sofya took the wooden spoon with her left hand, "Just go in one direction and try to have a consistent pace." He added as he reached for the bottle of cooking oil sitting atop the counter.

Sofya began to mix the batter in a counter-clockwise direction. She did it slowly so that there will be little amount of air bubbles. A pancake tastes horrible if it has too much air.

He added a teaspoon of oil into the bowl. It melded into the batter quickly.

Neither of them talked. It's hard for people to live under one roof when they're very uncomfortable with each other. He knew, however, that this… 'collaboration' was a sign that he and Sofya were having progress. It felt surreal, though. He never imagined that he'd be cooking with his youngest daughter, of all people.

Sofya took a glimpse of him and immediately averted her eyes when he looked at her.

"I think that's okay." Jack said after a few minutes. She nodded her head and tapped the ladle at the edge of the bowl.

"How do you like them?" he asked when he turned on the stove. Do you ask questions like that when you make pancakes? He can't really remember.

"Light and fluffy." She answered as she started to operate the coffee maker. After that, she placed some of the things they used in the sink before she set the table. She wanted everything to be done when her father finished cooking. She wanted to eat breakfast.

Several minutes later, they were seated in front of the table. Sofya lathered maple syrup in her plate before she started to eat.

"I have to bring you along to APO." Jack informed her after he took a sip from his cup. Sofya makes good coffee even if she doesn't drink it.

She looked at him, "Why? We finished interrogating Miguel Calderon before the building went into lockdown."

"You'll be safer there." He answered, "Only a handful of people know that you're staying with me."

The teenager frowned, "What if I get stuck in the elevator again?"

"That's not going to happen." He answered and shook his head. When they got home after the lockdown, they used the stairs to get to the apartment. The building has twelve floors and it was a good thing that they were in the fourth floor otherwise, he would have had sedated her so that they could ride the elevator.

"What if it does?" she asked

"It's not going to happen again."

The finality in his tone told Sofya that she won't be able to talk out of this arrangement. She rolled her eyes and resumed eating her breakfast. What will she do in APO? She couldn't possibly bother her sisters while they're working.

When she had finished three pancakes, an idea crossed her mind. She glanced at Jack and asked, "May I visit my Aunt Katya later?"

The expression on his face suddenly turned impassive, "You'll need to ride the elevator to get to her."

"Yes, I know. May I see her?"

Jack knows that if he says no, she'll refuse to go to APO with him. However, if he says yes, there is a possibility that Katya might mention their… indiscretion. He knows that his daughter is fiercely loyal to Irina and she might get hurt if she finds out about it. But then, Katya will not want to emotionally hurt her niece especially if she's her only visitor.

He sighed, "Go ahead."

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. Jack stared back.

"Don't tell Mom." She said finally and took another helping of pancakes.

-x-x-x-

_October 1975_

_Her heart thumped against her ribcage as she waited for the man to wake up. Her superiors had ordered her to kill Abel Heyman, a CIA agent, because he was discovered to be a traitor. He came to them and offered inside information about the CIA but he was later found out to be a plant, a double agent._

_She's not exactly a loyal citizen to Mother Russia, but she's still a KGB agent. She's still indebted to her country and she still needs to follow orders. However, upon seeing the face of Abel Heyman, she found out that she couldn't kill him. She had no qualms about killing people, but this man… he's different._

_She incapacitated him with a hit on the neck and dragged him to an abandoned building near the University. It was pretty run-down and seemed like it would collapse to the ground any at any given moment. But she knew that this was not true. The building has good foundation and it will not go down without a great force._

_After a few minutes, Abel Heyman groaned._

"_Where am…" he trailed off when he saw her. He immediately knew that he was in trouble and he was defenseless against it because he's tied up._

"_Mr. Heyman." She greeted, "Don't worry, if I wanted to kill you back there, you would have been dead."_

Irina tried to keep her irritation from showing. She's being questioned (quite inanely) by five men; all are of high rank in the CIA. She knows only two of the five. One is Benjamin Devlin, Jack's friend and the only one who knew about Nadia and the twins. The second is Timothy Spade. He worked with Jack before and is somewhat a protégé of her dear husband. He used to visit the house. The other three… she doesn't care who they are.

"We are not going to overlook the things you did against our country, Ms. Derevko." This is the nth time she had heard this statement for the past hour.

"After you faked the agents' death, where did you send them?" Timothy Spade asked.

She looked at him and feigned an expression of concentration, "Europe, Asia, Africa…" she took a deep breath, "Frankly speaking, gentlemen, I do not know where they are now. My memory isn't what it used to be." Yes, she saved twelve agents from death, but that doesn't mean that she didn't kill other CIA agents when she was Laura Bristow.

"If you can't prove that you didn't kill them, the basis of your agreement with the CIA will have to be forfeited." One of them said. He's wearing a horrid tie and it made him look tacky compared to the other four.

Irina coolly gazed at him, "I could vaguely remember sending Agent Peter Flack to Northern Ireland. I could recall him being of Irish descent, but I don't know if he's still there since thirty years have passed."

"Can you remember anyone else?" another one asked. She noticed that he was wearing a wig and she wondered the extent of the man's baldness.

"Bill Vaughn's dead, so that leaves ten more." She said. She tucked her hair behind her ear and tried to remember some names, "Agent Patrick Watson flew to New Zealand… James Nelson, Johannesburg… Claire Murray, France… that's all I could remember." She said and gracefully shrugged her shoulders.

The men looked at each other. So far, Irina Derevko has been cooperative with them. She also hasn't had contact with her son after they arrived— she didn't know that he's been recruited and was currently being field tested.

One by one, the men stood up and left the room, but Timothy Spade remained to talk to Irina.

He walked towards her position. He couldn't believe that after all these years, she still looked as breathtaking as the first time he saw her. He hasn't seen her son, but from what he heard from the senior officers, he is a carbon copy of Jack Bristow.

"Director Chase will be speaking with you later regarding an important matter about your son." He said and looked at her straight in the eye. He used to feel embarrassed when he talked to her; now, it seemed very inappropriate if he blushed in her presence.

"Its not going to be about recruiting my son into the CIA, I suppose?" she asked and leaned back on the chair. She stared at him and he looked back unflinchingly.

"She'll be coming in immediately after I leave." Timothy Spade. He doesn't know what to say to her. She is a terrorist and she wreaks havoc into the world, but she seems so… attuned with nature.

He gave a slight nod of the head and left the room. Irina watched him leave. When she first met Timothy Spade, he was a bright-eyed agent who blushed a lot and seemed to have hero-worshipped Jack. Looking at him now, she could tell that he had learned a lot from the time that passed.

She heard the click of Hayden Chase's heels. Irina bit back a sigh.

'Here we go again.'

-x-x-x-

"Betrayal is a good teacher. If you let it."

Sofya made a face. She's seated on the floor, in front of the metal bars but directly in front of her aunt. They are conversing in Russian, "But you're Mom's sister. She trusted you."

Katya gazed at her niece. When Sofya was a child, her face was like an angel's and it beamed with innocence and curiosity. Now, she still looked angelic, but the innocence had started to fade away and the curiosity… well, it seemed to be still there.

"I don't think you'll understand little one."

She frowned. She doesn't like being called 'little one' by her aunt. She's only three hours younger than Nathan and she's definitely not the youngest in the Derevko clan, "Try me."

"Your mother betrayed countless of people, including your father and your sister. Sometimes, it's to save her life and sometimes it's to protect the very people she betrayed." Katya replied in a soothing voice when Sofya's frown deepened, "Every so often, you give up on someone because you love them very much."

"How could you love someone and betray them at the same time?"

Katya smiled wryly, "That my dear, is the million dollar question." She looked around her cell, "I could tell you that, that's how life works, but that would be a lie."

'Why does everything have to be complicated in my family?' Sofya thought. She hasn't really forgiven her aunt for lying about her mother's whereabouts, but she had good reasons for it. It might seem weird for other people, but she could understand her aunt's point of view in the problem.

"Do you think Mom will forgive you?"

Katya laughed, "Have you forgiven your brother for pushing you down the stairs?" she asked back. When the twins were nine, Nathan pushed Sofya off the stairs after a heated argument. Her niece suffered a bruised forehead and skinned forearms.

"No."

"Do you think your mother will forgive me?"

"No."

"Then that's you answer." Katya replied, almost in a resigned tone, "Will she talk to me? Probably, but she'll never forgive me. I was family and I betrayed her."

"What about my father?" Sofya asked after a few minutes.

"What about him?" her eyes sharpened and she looked at her niece closely. Did Irina tell her?

"Uh…" she shrugged, "Nothing."

Katya stood up from her chair, "Your mother didn't tell your father that you were alive because she was afraid that you might be put into danger again. She knew that Jack will be angry if he finds out – which he did - but she went on with her plan anyway."

Sofya looks like she wants to know more but she seems afraid to ask the questions.

"You and your brother went through so many traumas. Irina knew that she will never be a good mother if harm always comes your way. Your father lived the way she lived." She sighed and started to walk around. She's grateful for the company of her niece, but she hates it when they start to talk about these kinds of things.

"Was that why she was always away from home, because she doesn't want to endanger us?"

She looked at the teenager sitting on the floor. She smiled, not because she doesn't want to answer the question, but because it was the truth.

'When did they realize that their mother was a terrorist?' she thought and went back to her seat.

"You've been here for almost two hours, Iya. Will your sisters not miss you?" Katya asked, changing the topic.

Sofya angled her head to the side and pursed her lips, "_He_ said that I can only come here after lunch. I had lunch with him, Sydney and Nadia."

"Why can't you refer to him as your father when you say it in a… personal sentence?" she asked in a joking manner, though it impressed her slightly that Jack is trying to reconnect with his daughters.

She glanced at her with an uncertain look on her face, "I guess I'm not ready for it." She then looked at her watch and stood up, "Well, he said I'd better be outside by this time because he'll fetch me. I think I'll see you tomorrow." She said and smiled at her aunt.

"See you tomorrow, Iya." Katya said and her niece turned around to leave. She waited in her chair until she heard the door at the other end opened and closed before she went towards her bed.

She took the book on top of the pile and started reading.

_Tomorrow then._


	59. fifty six

**CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX**

Sydney signed her name at the bottom of the paper and closed the folder. She leaned back on her chair and smiled since her work for the day is finished.

She began to look around. Nadia is still in front of the computer, typing while Vaughn seems to be discussing something with Dixon. A glance at her watch told her that it's still early, but she collected the files on top of her desk and placed it in her drawer.

Minutes later, she stood up to get something to eat. As she walked by the desks, she began to think about what she's going to cook for dinner. Vaughn would probably join them since Weiss was still in Langley with her mother and brother. What would they want to eat?

When she went in the break room, she found her father standing by the countertop, making coffee.

"Dad." Sydney greeted and took a banana from the fruit basket, "Are you planning to work late?" she asked and sat on one of the aluminum chairs.

"Most probably." He answered, "I'm reviewing Nate's papers as well as searching for an agent to replace the mole – if ever we find him – and then…" he trailed off. The neutral expression on his face suddenly became that of puzzlement.

Sydney let out a deep breath, "You forgot about Iya."

How could he have forgotten that his youngest daughter was staying with him? "She slipped out of my mind." He ran his fingers through his hair and stared at the floor in disbelief.

She could see that this matter is troubling her father. "Dad, you could do it tomorrow if you couldn't finish it today."

"It has to be finished by tomorrow." Jack answered and leaned on the counter. He sighed, "I'll just bring them home with me."

"You don't seem too happy about it." She remarked as she peeled the skin of the fruit.

"Aside from the work I need to do, I have to tell your sister about Nate's current status with the CIA before they arrive tomorrow," he started, "I don't know how to tell it to her."

Sydney took a bite from the banana, "It's not going to be hard."

"What if she throws a tantrum?"

"Dad, she's eighteen. She's not going to throw a tantrum." she said and took another bite of her snack, "Where is Iya, anyway?"

"I saw her with Marshall." Jack answered and turned off the coffeemaker.

The image of Marshall and her sister speaking animatedly in tech language as they giddily inspect the gadgets popped in her mind. A grin appeared on her face.

"I think they're playing a video game." Her father continued. He took a mug and poured coffee in it.

Silence followed. Their thoughts have drifted elsewhere.

"Uh, could you, Nadia and Nate come for dinner this Sunday?" Jack asked after a while.

Sydney looked at him, "A family dinner?"

His eyebrows knotted slightly at the term, but he nodded his head, "Still half-half though."

"That… that would be great. I'll tell Nadia." She answered and gave him a smile.

Jack nodded his head again and smiled back.

**That night**

He closed the last of the folders and massaged his temples. At last, he's done with the agents' files. Out of fifteen, only five seemed to be well-equipped with handling the issues that are associated with a black-ops department and out of those five, a certain Agent Thomas Grace stood out.

He set those folders aside and took the results of the psych test and field evaluation of Nathan. When he told Sofya that her brother was recruited by the Agency, her reaction was that of indifference and she seemed unimpressed with it.

"_Yeah, sure. Whatever." She shrugged and stood up to wash the dishes._

He wasn't sure if what she was sarcastic or maybe jealous (you never know really…) but he felt relieved that she didn't do anything nasty. She didn't seem to care about the issue.

Jack sighed and started to read Nathan's file. He absorbed every single word he read, as if it's the only way he could get to know his son.

…_IQ hovers above the genius level. The level of spatial intelligence, photographic memory and logic are very, very high. Subject is physically and mentally strong and well-capable of compartmentalizing emotions. Results of other tests conclude that he is better fit for the role of the team leader as he has good managing and strategic skills…_

He was halfway finished reading through the first page when he heard a crash followed by a slam of the door. He stood up from his leather chair and went out of his study to check on the commotion.

The dimly-lit hallway did not help in his investigation. Jack flicked on the switch and found that the boxes he had piled by the storage closet before he started to work were now strewn on the floor. The door of the closet, which he left open so that the musty odor would be aired out, was now closed.

"HELP!" The sound of the door being pounded followed.

He hurried towards it, "Iya?" he called out and tried to clear the hallway of the scattered things.

"The doorknob's broken. It just keeps turning and turning."

'Why does this kind of thing happen to her?' he thought and tried to open the door. He couldn't twist it.

He didn't dare to ask if she is holding the doorknob because if she isn't, then the door's jammed. He didn't want to go through this trapped-in-the-storage-room drama again.

"It's so dark… I can't breathe." She said in full panic.

"Please don't panic, Iya." Jack said and jiggled the handle.

Luckily, after a few seconds, he heard something click and he was able to turn the knob. He sighed in relief and opened the door widely.

As quick as a lightning, Sofya flew into his chest and held on to him tightly, "Those boxes weren't scattered around last night." She said in a half sob.

Jack could feel her pulse racing and, though he's taken aback with her reaction, he wrapped his arms around her and tried his best to comfort his daughter.

"I'm sorry." He said after a while. "I'll have that door fixed by tomorrow."

Sofya suddenly stiffened. She pulled away from him and looked at him with an odd expression on her face, "You said that before." She said softly. She paused for a while and then continued,

"I was stuck inside a small room with no lights at all and I couldn't get out… I was crying but you told me that it was alright because you're there. When you got me out, you told me that you'll have the door fixed by tomorrow."

Jack stared at her. She was two years old when the incident happened and the fact that Irina had blocked out her and Nathan's memories twice made it impossible for Sofya to remember it. He's very surprised that she recalled everything after hearing his apology.

She looked at him intently. That was one of the dreams she had when she was being held by Deretoskiev. She forgot about it and thought that it wasn't real, but after she heard what he had said… it suddenly came back in her mind.

"You were stuck inside that room for almost a day. And you were crying for almost half of it." He said after a few minutes. He let out a deep breath, "It was a traumatizing experience—for both of us."

"Why did I call you paddy?" she asked. There was a curiosity in her tone.

He saw a change in the way Sofya looked at him. He immediately knew that emotional barrier she had put up on front of him had started to crumble away.

"You combined papa and Daddy to please both your sisters. Nadia tried to teach you to say 'papa', while Sydney tried to teach you to say 'Daddy'. Your mother thought that it was a very diplomatic gesture." Jack answered.

"Are you still angry at Mom for not telling you that Nate and I were alive?"

Lying might make her repair the weakened wall in between them. At this moment, she doesn't want to hear lies.

"Yes, I am."

Her brows furrowed and a small frown appeared on her face, "Are you still angry at Nate for beating the crap out of you in your garage?"

"I didn't get angry at him." Jack answered and gave a small shrug, "He had good reasons for it."

She stared at him once again and he stared back. Awkward silence ensued and they don't know how to end it.

"It's getting late. You should get to bed." he said after a long time.

His daughter nodded her head, "Okay. Goodnight." She said, but didn't make any move towards her bedroom.

"Goodnight." Jack replied, but he too didn't make a move towards his study.

It took them a few more minutes to uproot their feet from where their standing. Sofya tried to keep her head down as she walked to her room. She doesn't know how to handle this situation. Maybe she should ask her mother about this when she arrives tomorrow.

-x-x-x-

"How was Langley?"

Jack stood by the doorway, a few feet away from Irina. He kept his distance from her because he knew that she will explode in rage about Nathan's recruitment.

She rubbed the towel against her wet hair. She had just emerged from the shower a while ago, "Uneventful." She turned towards the full-length mirror, "Why?"

He leaned on the wall and said nothing. She looked at him through the mirror and continued drying her hair. She could tell that he wants to know how she feels about Nathan being an agent with APO. Frankly speaking, she's angry about it and if she had her way, she would have stopped it. Nathan told her that they didn't force him; that it was his choice. But what really angers her was the fact that Jack knew about the 'recruitment' before they were sent to Langley and he didn't tell her.

She took her comb by the bedside table and turned to the mirror again.

"Don't you want to say anything about Nathan?" Jack asked when she started to untangle her long hair.

"Will you listen to me if I say anything about it?" Irina asked back and looked at him.

He didn't try to think of a response and instead left the room.

She sighed and frowned. How do they manage to live like this? Their arguments are petty; their 'pleasant' exchanges are robotic. She rather go through backstabbing and treachery than face this kind of kind of life. She's not used to this.

She resumed brushing her hair. Droplets of water flew around her as the teeth of the comb reached the end of her tresses. She dried her hair again when she felt her blouse getting wet.

"Mom?"

Her daughter stood by the doorway, "What is it, sweetie?" she asked and tossed the towel to the chair.

"May we go to APO?" she asked, "I want to see Nate."

Irina raised a brow, "Why do you want to see Nate?"

"I miss him." Sofya said in slight incredulity, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hit him or anything after I hug him. I don't care if he's employed by the CIA."

She walked towards the table and returned the comb to its original place. She smoothed her hair behind her ear and looked at her daughter. She angled her head, "And why do I have the feeling that you want something from him?"

Sofya grinned, "Well, since he's _Agent Derevko_ now, I'll ask him to check my emails." She replied. Her agreement with the CIA prohibited her to use the computer if it wasn't related to program-making/program-repairing. If she violated this rule, she'd go to jail.

"Actually, they'll call your brother Agent Bristow. It's what's in his birth certificate."

"Oh, so if I get recruited to the CIA, I'll be called Agent Bristow too?" she asked, "That's hypothetically speaking." She added when she saw her mother's sharp glance.

"Most probably." Irina answered.

"So, can we go?" Sofya asked

She sighed. There's nothing to do inside Jack's apartment, "Okay."

"Okay." Her daughter said brightly, "Let's go."

-x-x-x-

Nathan glanced towards his father's office. His mother and twin sister were inside and they seemed to be talking. He missed their presence – especially Sofya's – and he hoped that once he begins working in APO regularly, he'll see them more.

He looked around. He's in the conference room with his sisters, his father, Agents Dixon, Vaughn and Weiss, Marshall Flinkman and Arvin Sloane. It's some sort of pre-operation meeting.

"Hakim Zapphar is a trusted aide of Leo Deretoskiev and, according to a reliable source, he's keeping the original copies of the manuscripts Nadia and Sofya wrote." He heard Sloane say. He looked at the monitors and saw a picture of a man with Middle Eastern features. He and his sister had done business with this man, but it probably might not be helpful to them.

"All we know about him is that he's being protected by the Japanese Yakuza and he lives in a hotel near Tokyo Disneyland."

"From the reconnaissance mission, Zapphar likes to talk to couples—rich couples. It's not really known if he talks about business or something else, but he invites them to dinner." Marshall continued. He looked at Sloane and he continued,

"A look at Zapphar's accounts told us that he paid Mikhail Premenov for an impenetrable security program for his network of computers in the hotel and for his other properties."

Nathan was reading the report, but when he heard his alias, he looked up. Everyone had their eyes on him.

"We made a state-of-the-art security program for his system. I don't think that knowledge will be useful at this moment."

Vaughn agreed, "According to Calderon, the manuscripts are kept inside a metal briefcase with a small keypad to punch in a code. This briefcase is inside a safe. The security code of both the briefcase and the safe changes every six hours…" He said and took a deep breath,

"…if you enter the wrong code for the safe, the whole room will go into lockdown. However, if you enter the wrong code for the briefcase, acid will be released inside and it will destroy the contents of the case."

"Where is the safe located?" Sydney asked.

"In his hotel room." Sloane answered, "Zapphar leaves his room during mealtimes and comes back after an hour or so, but in cases of having dinner with other people, he could stay out until 11 PM. His bodyguards leave the room during dinnertime and guard by the doorway. When Zapphar is out, no one can come inside the room."

"How do we plan to get copies of the manuscripts?" Nadia inquired. She's seated in between Dixon and Sydney, and she has finished reading the report on their target.

Sloane looked at Marshall, who stood up, "There are two ways to get inside. One is through the ventilation shaft while the second one is from the outside, the terrace. According to the schematics, the terrace leads directly to Zapphar's study" he said and showed the photographs taken by the recon team.

"…however, hotel security will make it hard for someone to just enter without disabling the entire security of the hotel…" he trailed off. When he told this problem to both Sloane and Jack, they decided to include him in the mission.

"Sydney and Vaughn, you'll be posing as an engaged couple who are both from the hotel and restaurant business. Make contact with Zapphar, try to establish a connection and invite him to dinner. Dixon will be assisting you." Sloane looked at Nadia,

"You and Marshall will be on standby. The moment Zapphar agrees to the dinner, Marshall will be disabling security and you will break in the room through the terrace… you'll have a window of fifteen minutes…"

They began to talk about the mission. Nathan marveled at the pre-ops meeting are handled. It's like a tennis match—questions and answers were being bounced back and forth consistently. It was quite different from the way he and Sofya planned missions.

"Nate and Weiss will be monitoring everything from here." Jack said and looked at his son, who shrugged.

When no one raised any more questions, Sloane leaned back on the chair, "The plane will leave in three hours. Good luck."


	60. fifty seven

**A/N - ** So sorry. I totally forgot about updating. I hope you forgive me. --

**CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN**

"Hey, what are you doing?" Sofya asked as she entered the conference room. Her brother is the only person inside and seems to be very focused on the information in the computer. Sydney, Dixon, Vaughn, Nadia and Marshall (she calls them Team Japan) left an hour ago for Tokyo.

"I can't access our database." Nathan said accusingly, "I can neither enter nor hack into it."

"I just moved it, Nate. Don't get angry." She plopped down next to her brother. She smiled at him and angled her head, "Could you please check my email?"

"Could we do this later?" he replied, "Where did you effin hide the database?"

She pursed her lips, "If I don't get to check my email, you won't know where I hid it."

He stared at her sister. She's not joking at all. He shook his head and sighed, "You have ten thousand email accounts. Do you want to check them all?"

"Just one." She said, "Uh, sad, yahoo! Account." She smiled to herself when Nathan typed in the address of the free web-based email. Seconds later, he slid the laptop towards her so that she could type in her password.

"Make it fast I have to check on Hakim Zapphar." he said and tried to keep his irritation from showing. He was manipulated by Sofya – again – and he just let her do it to him, "There's something that's been bugging me every since the pre-ops meeting." He muttered.

"Who?" she asked as she typed. Her eyes are glued to the monitor.

"Hakim Zapphar. You know, the guy who hired us to make a complicated security program for his network in Japan and then hired us again to interconnect his computers to his other computers in five countries?"

"That dude who likes to play therapist to rich, old, married couples?" Sofya asked and clicked her inbox. She had 3168 unread messages.

"Old, married couples?"

She didn't look at her brother, "Yes. You said it was odd, remember? They were the only people he invited to dinner. He's a pretty good therapist. It's just too bad that he's also a drug dealer." She said as she scanned the senders of the messages. Almost all of them are from her former roommates.

When she was caught by the CIA, Cedric had no choice but to tell them about her true identity. They knew that they couldn't tell their shock and their disbelief in person, so they emailed them to her. She answered all of their questions and they started to correspond.

To tell the truth, she had a thousand or so messages full of gossip.

"Iya, are you listening to me!?"

She looked up from the screen, "Sorry, what?"

"Is that info in the database!?"

"Yes." She answered. Her brother glared at her and she responded by rolling her eyes, "Fine, I'll show you where the _effin_ database is," she exasperatedly said and turned to the computer again. She didn't log out of her account and instead started to type in the keyboard.

The screen went black. Suddenly, numbers began to flash, which prompted Sofya to type in some more things.

_Welcome_.

"You used your account as some sort of entrance?" Nathan gaped at her, "Why do you have to manipulate everything to get what you want?"

She typed in Hakim Zapphar's name, "Because I can." She replied and slid the laptop back to her brother.

Information about the man appeared in the monitor. Nathan scrolled towards Zapphar's weakness and his face grew grim when he read it.

"How could I have forgotten this?" he asked to no one in particular.

"Maybe you have a lot of things in mind. I, in contrast, have a lot of free time in my hands—an awful lot of free time." she said, offering an explanation.

"Syd and Vaughn must get him to have dinner with them. He's not going to take that invitation." He replied and looked at her. Then, he stood up and took his sister's wrist, "Come with me."

"What? Why?" her brother pulled her off the chair and started to drag her out of the conference room.

"You're going to help me out of this."

-x-x-x-

"Yes… understood… yes… goodbye." Dixon ended the call and stood up. They're in a private plane en route to Tokyo and they've been up in the air for almost two hours.

"There's been a slight change of plans." He announced to the others, who were seated adjacent to him. Everybody looked at him to hear the rest of the news.

"They found additional information about Zapphar. Apparently, he likes talking to rich, old, married couples—as some sort of therapist." Dixon said, "Jack and Irina will be following us in Tokyo. Sydney and Vaughn, you will still initiate the contact, but you will introduce him to them. Zapphar is attracted to seemingly perfect marriages. He believes that the façade is a way to hide a much fractured marital relations."

"Agents Ratzi and Tanner did the reconnaissance on this? How could have they made this… mistake?" Nadia asked as she took the folder of the recon mission, "Wait, my parents are going in as a happily married couple?"

Dixon nodded his head, "A review on the program Nathan and Sofya made revealed that Zapphar has his own surveillance cameras inside his hotel room. Sofya could easily disable it, but she will be coordinating with you to ensure Nadia's safety."

Marshall raised his hand, "I re-evaluated the entire defense scheme of the hotel. If I stop the entire system of surveillance cameras in the building, I will be totally blind. I wouldn't be able to guide Nadia, unless…" he looked at his computer and then to Dixon, "Oh, never mind. Nate could probably help." He said and took his cell phone.

Dixon turned to the others, "We'll be having another briefing when we land. Jack and Irina will be arriving three hours after us. Nathan, Sofya and Weiss will be monitoring from APO."

Sydney frowned slightly. When did spying become such a family affair? She took a glance at Nadia, who also looked at her. A therapist plus their parents? What an interesting combination.

"The aliases we're going to use are still the same, right?" Vaughn asked as he took the folder of their mission to take note of the changes. By adding Jack and Irina to the mix, their complicated mission turned more complex.

-x-x-x-

Jack kept his eyes closed as Irina chatted with the flight attendant. He couldn't think of any explanation to why they couldn't use a cargo plane to Tokyo. It might be uncomfortable, but it wouldn't get any more uncomfortable than this. They've assumed their roles that they would play for Hakim Zapphar and he had to act like a loving and caring husband to Irina and vice-versa. He didn't find the loving and caring part uncomfortable; what bothered him was that it was an illusion. It wasn't real.

He glanced at Irina. She's all smiles and seemed so sociable and exuberant. It was ironic since she didn't talk that much on their way to the airport or when they were talking about the operation. She asked two or three question, and was silent all throughout.

A few minutes later, she stopped talking and he felt her sigh. He could sense that it was more of exhaustion than that of exasperation.

"How was Langley, really?" he asked softly and opened his eyes to look at her.

"As I said earlier, uneventful." She rested her head on her seat, "I had fun with all the questions they asked." she replied with slight derision.

Jack paused for a second, "Did you get any sleep?"

"I meditated." And yet, it seemed to have sucked out all her energy than rejuvenated her. She couldn't understand it. Before she was held captive for six months, she could meditate for twenty minutes and feel revitalized. She could sleep for less than two hours and she'd still have energy to last for another day. Now, if she didn't sleep for four hours or more, fatigue would overcome her.

"You didn't sleep for five days?"

Irina turned her head and got slightly surprised to see his face so close to hers. She closed her eyes, "I didn't like my bed." she murmured.

Jack raised a brow and though she only felt it, she smiled slightly, "You weren't there." She said teasingly as her smile grew wider.

"I guess you'll be able to rest once we get to the hotel."

"Mmm…" her breath softly caressed his cheek. Strands of hair fell on her face and Jack gently pushed them away. When his fingers touched her skin, he jerked his hand away, as if he was burned.

'It's just a role.' He berated himself and leaned on the head rest. Her hand was next to his and a few seconds later; he felt her relaxing and heard her breathing even. She must have fallen asleep.

He looked at her and wondered if she still dreams.

_The feeling of dread and darkness enveloped her, feeding on her strength and her willpower. She couldn't escape. She couldn't break free._

"_Please, don't do this. It's me, Iya."_

_Her daughter's voice, face and figure suddenly appeared in front of her. She's looking at her, crying. Her hazel eyes are filled with fear._

"_Please, snap out of it." Sofya pleaded as she cried. She couldn't go near him,, "Sydney and Nadia are killing each other. We need to stop them."_

"_We can't." Irina said the words but it wasn't her voice she heard._

"_Nate, please. Nadia and Sydney need our help. Put the gun down."_

_The blaring sound of a gunshot rang in her ears. Her scream was stuck in her throat and she stared in horror as her daughter's body flew backward and blood flew across the space. She tried to run towards Sofya, but a dark swirling vortex engulfed her and swallowed her into nothingness._

Irina woke up with a start, profusely sweating. She tried to calm herself down and tried to remember where she is. Her eyes anxiously looked around. She's in a plane. Yes, she—they were on their way to Tokyo.

She stood up and went to the bathroom. The moment she locked the door, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair, dyed in crimson, was slightly tousled. Her face was pallid, and she could see trepidation in her eyes. She turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on her face.

A few minutes later, she went back to her seat and started flipping through the schedules of the in-flight movies. After that horrible dream, she had decided to not sleep inside the plane anymore.

She felt Jack's hand touch her shoulder. She turned to look at him, "I'm alright." She said and gave him a slight but reassuring smile.

He carefully looked at her for a few seconds before he lightly pulled his hand away from her shoulder and leaned back on his chair again.

She scanned the description of the films and settled for a comedy. It should help in taking her mind off the nightmare.

When the movie started, she propped her back on the seat and tried to enjoy.

-x-x-x-

[A few hours later

"You're a therapist?"

Vaughn feigned surprise as he looked at Hakim Zapphar. The man was in his early forties, medium built and had dark hair and olive skin. He was impeccably dressed for breakfast and seemed really harmless, "With all your knowledge about the hotel and restaurant business, I assumed you're running one."

Zapphar laughed heartily, "I get that reaction a lot from people who deals in the trade, Mr. Emmanuelle."

Vaughn smiled in response, "Please call me Jordan." His alias was Jordan Emmanuelle, a prosperous restaurateur from New York. He and his fiancée, Celina Taft who was also a restaurateur, were in Tokyo to scour a place to build a restaurant.

"Well, Jordan, have you seen a nice place for your establishment?" Zapphar asked as he sipped his hot chocolate.

Vaughn cleared away the strands of blond hair from his eyeglasses and nodded his head, "We found several spots and Celina really loved the one by the park. The cherry blossoms were beautiful." He then glanced around, looking for Sydney, who was waiting for Jack and Irina.

"Mr. Zapphar, do you do marriage counseling? Its not for us, it's for my fiancée's godparents."

"Jordan, marriage counseling is my main… what do you Americans call it? Expertise?" he replied. Well, that and sex therapy, he thought and smiled at the young man in front of him. He leaned forward, interested, "How long have they been married?"

"The Cliffords, Greg and Lisa, have been married for almost twenty-eight years. They seem very perfect, affectionate to each other, always together in public functions… but Greg had told me recently that he and Lisa were having problems. He doesn't want Celina to know."

"Are they well-off? Do they have children?"

Vaughn nodded his head, "They're very well-off. Yachts, ranches… Greg has a mining firm while Lisa's family is into real estate. They have four kids; all of them are younger than me."

"Rich couples like to exude that they have a perfect marriage because they want to show to everyone that they have everything they want. And the pressure doubles if they have children. Normally, couples, rich or poor, stay together because of their children."

Vaughn clasped his hands in front of him, "Mr. Zapphar, I will really appreciate it if you'll counsel them, even for just one day. Celina's parents went through a nasty divorce when she was ten and she held on to the belief that not all marriages fail because of the Cliffords. If they get separated…" he trailed off. Vaughn hoped that he didn't sound too melodramatic.

"Oh, they're here." He said when he saw Sydney, Jack and Irina entering the hall. Zapphar looked at the direction of his gaze and took a look at his subjects. A small glance at the couple behind the beautiful blonde gave him an inkling of what the marital problem might be.

"For a marriage to work, Jordan, it must fulfill three basic needs: emotional, psychological and sexual. Rich couples work hard so that they'll stay rich and sometimes, they forget about those needs." Zapphar smiled and looked at the direction of 'Greg' and 'Lisa'.

"I know what to do." Zapphar said, "I'm inviting you, your fiancée and the Cliffords for dinner later. An orchestra plays here every night and the food is very good too."

"That sounds great." Vaughn answered. They've succeeded in the first part of the mission.

"Good. Uh, around seven-thirty?" Zapphar suggested and looked at his watch.

"Seven-thirty sounds fine."

"Well, Jordan, I need to go. I have a meeting in a few minutes." Zapphar pushed his chair back and stood up.

Vaughn held out his left hand and stood up too, "Thank you Mr. Zapphar."

"The pleasure is all mine, Jordan." He replied and shook Jordan Emmanuelle's hand.

-x-x-x-

"_Uh, they're reporting interferences in base camp, Evergreen. It will be, like, a good idea to keep your cell phone at hand…"_

"Copy that, Wizard." Nadia whispered as she climbed up the balcony. Marshall manipulated their room reservations so that she would be directly above their target's room.

"_Okay, uh, good. I'm gonna go radio-silent so Hyperion could talk to you."_

Nadia pulled herself up and looked upwards. She had a few more inches to go but she had to wait for Sofya's signal before she goes up.

"_I disabled the security cameras inside his study. You're okay to go."_

She pulled herself up and jumped over the terrace. She stealthily moved towards the doors and tried the handle. It's unlocked. She turned it and slipped inside.

"I'm in." she whispered and looked around. The desk, dark and majestic oak, was by her left. A personal computer sat atop it and not a single clutter could be seen. There were book cases behind the table and they were also made out of oak.

"_The safe is at the wall to your right, at the center."_

She walked middle of the wall and brought down the painting that hung from it. She ran her fingertips at the sides of the panel and pressed the lower right corner. The panel swung open and the safe appeared.

"Okay, the safe is in front of me."

"_The code is 0-2-1-3-9-0-5-2-8-0-7."_

Nadia punched in the digits swiftly but carefully. She held her breath as she waited for the safe to open.

"I have the briefcase." She said after a few seconds.

"_Okay, the code is, 5-2-6-7-"_

A loud high-pitched screech filled her head and she tore off her com link from her ear. She winced as she massaged her outer ear. Was that the interference Marshall was referring? Her sister wasn't able to give her the last five digits of the code.

Nadia whipped out her cell phone and tried to call Weiss. Unfortunately, something seemed to be blocking her call.

She tried to keep herself from pacing as she dialed Marshall's number, "Marshall, hey, there was some sort of interference and Iya wasn't able to give me the complete set of codes."

"_Wha? Wait, I'll try to contact them. They have to decrypt the codes using the target's computer."_

Nadia suddenly felt that every second that passed was killing her. Her heart was in her throat. What if something unexpected happened?

There was a slight beep from her phone, "Marshall, I have to put you on hold. I have an incoming call." She suspended Marshall's call so that she could receive the other one, "Eric?"

"_It's Iya. Get out of there quick. Zapphar's entering his room."_


	61. fifty eight

**CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT**

Hakim Zapphar whistled as he strolled inside his study. He feels confident that Greg and Lisa Clifford will be able to fix their problem if he just gives them a little push. They need to be directed to the right way and that's what he's going to do.

He went directly to his massive oak desk and pulled a drawer. He took out a small vial that contained a clear liquid and closed it again.

'Several drops will be enough.' He thought and dropped the container in his jacket pocket. He feels the Cliffords' passion for life and work. Lisa's vivaciousness balances Greg's seriousness, but even if Greg's the serious-type, he makes Lisa laugh. They are a complementing pair.

He couldn't deny that he is quite attracted to Lisa. The woman is beautiful—it's a fact. It is also a fact that the only man she wants, for richer or for poorer, is her husband.

He was on his way out of the room when he stopped and stared at the wall. For a minute, he just stood there, as if he was trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Finally, he took a step towards it and fixed the painting. It was hung quite unevenly.

He took a step back and looked at it again.

A few minutes later, he started to whistle and went out of the room.

"_Nadia, he's gone. Where are you?"_

Nadia placed her phone closer to her ear, "Hanging in the balcony with only one arm." She could hear her blood pounding in her ears. She had hurriedly returned everything in its place when Sofya warned her about Zapphar and the worst-case scenarios ran in her head as she dashed out of the room.

"_I froze the cameras again. You can go in." _

She placed her cell phone in her pocket and heaved herself up the terrace. She rubbed her triceps and she walked towards the door. She'd probably have sore arms tomorrow.

She went towards the wall and moved quicker this time. She punched in the code to the safe and took out the briefcase.

"The rest of the codes please." She said to her sister in the phone. She could feel her heartbeat going back to its normal rate.

"_5-2-6-7-8-8-0-1-4."_

She punched in the digits. The briefcase was slim and lightweight and she wondered if all the manuscripts were inside.

Nadia knew she wrote a lot of things during her two weeks of incarceration in that mental institution. Sofya translated all that bulk, but it seemed that the case could only hold twenty sheets of paper.

She was wrong.

"Okay, I've got it." She said and took out bundles of paper. She took out a miniature camera from her utility belt, "Taking pictures…" she said as she started to photograph the sheets.

She recognized her handwriting in some of the pages but she couldn't understand what she wrote. The pages with her sister's handwriting were quite legible but she resisted the temptation of reading them. She must finish this task. The hotel management might discover that their security was disabled.

After a few minutes, she collected the papers and returned them in the case. She brought it back to the safe and closed it. She then placed the painting back to wall and made sure that it's in its original position. After that, she secured the camera in her pocket since she'll be giving it to Marshall later.

She took her cell phone. Her earpiece seemed to have died on her, "I'm done." She said a bit breathlessly. The painting was quite heavy.

"_When Zapphar went in, he took something in his desk drawer, a small container filled with clear liquid. Could you get a sample and bring it to Marshall? I'm a bit worried."_ Her sister asked.

"Why?" Nadia asked as she noiselessly walked towards the desk.

"_Zapphar has the tendency to… drug his subjects. Untried aphrodisiacs and stuff like that. He's having dinner with Team Japan and we're afraid that he might try to drug Mr. and Mrs. Clifford."_

She pulled the first drawer and found a box full of small glass vials. She took one, looked at it and turned the cap.

"Is this it?" she asked as she took out a cotton swab from one of the pockets of her utility belt and took a sample.

"_Yeah."_

"It looks like water." Nadia remarked.

"_Don't smell it. It might make you horny."_ Sofya said, _"Ow! Eric! Its true!" _she heard her sister exclaim. She smiled amusedly as she returned the vial to the box.

"Wait, there are other different colored liquids in here, I'll take some more samples." Nadia replied and after a few minutes, she walked towards the doors of the balcony, "I'm done. I'll call you again after I reach my room."

"_Okay. Good luck going back."_

"Thanks."

-x-x-x-

The orchestra is in full blast and couples, both foreign and Japanese are dancing to the waltz. It's a night to have fun, Zapphar said, and he immediately asked 'Mrs. Clifford' to dance with him.

Jack leaned back on his chair and watched. Sydney and Vaughn are dancing near Irina and Zapphar, and they look like they're enjoying themselves. For him, nobody is good enough for Sydney, one of his little girls, but Vaughn loves her and he seems to be willing to sacrifice everything for her. And if Sydney is happy with Vaughn, then he should learn to accept him.

He then looked at Irina. His 'wife' appears so at ease with the jewelry adorning her neck, ears and wrists. However, the stones brilliance loses its luster when compared to Irina's smile. It seemed is so genuine that he suddenly felt jealous of Zapphar. She rarely gave him that smile nowadays.

His eyes roamed around the room. Dixon was a few tables away from him and is talking to a woman. He looked like he was absorbed with what they were talking about, but his body language suggests that he's very much alert for anything.

His cell phone started to ring. He glanced at the caller ID and found that it was an unregistered number.

"Clifford." He greeted with a slight Southern accent and brought his attention back to the dance floor.

"_Nadia is safely inside her room."_ It was Weiss, _"And we can't contact any of you in your com links because of signal interference."_

"How are things holding up?" he asked.

"_We could still send and receive info in our computers and we could use our cell phones, but the signals to your com links are totally messed up. We found the source and it seems that the mole planted it."_

"What else?" he made sure that it sounded business-like to every one who hears him.

"_Iya is dusting the transmission box for fingerprints and Nate is talking to Marshall on how to pinpoint the trigger of the interference. Iya asked me to remind all of you to not drink anything Zapphar offers, unless you see him drink it. "_

"Okay. Call me if any more problems arise." Jack said and ended the call. He then stared at the dancing figure of Irina again. Zapphar must be talking about something serious since her lips seemed to have lost her smile.

He stood up from the chair and strode towards them. He plastered a grin on his face and courteously cut into the dance. Hakim Zapphar graciously turned over Irina.

"Thank god." Irina muttered as Jack placed a hand on her waist, "I was getting tired of talking to him."

"You looked like you were hanging on to every word he said." Jack remarked as they bodies moved gracefully with the music.

She angled her head and gazed into his eyes, "Was I convincing?"

"You had me fooled."

She beamed, "Good." She said and pressed her body closer to him. She then skimmed her thumb on his collarbone and looked at his face. The heels she's wearing made her almost as tall as him.

"Hakim asked me if we kiss in public." Irina said, "I said to him that we do, sometimes."

Jack smiled as if she said something amusing, "Was that the reason why you looked so serious a while ago?"

Amusement fluttered in her lips, "Actually, he was talking about psychology and the minds of married people."

"Ah." He replied, "He was playing therapist."

Irina took a deep breath, "He has quite a deep knowledge about it." She said and flipped her hair a bit, "He's quite charming."

Jack raised a brow but didn't give a reply.

They danced until the song ended and when the orchestra started to prepare for the next melody, they made their way back to their table with their fingers interlaced together.

Zapphar smiled at them, "Where are Jordan and Celina?" he asked. There is an open bottle of sake by his side.

"Still dancing." Jack answered with a slight twang, "Those two kids love to dance." He said as they sat down.

Their host placed the bottle in front of them, "I want you to try the hotel's special sake. It's quite sweet. I've opened it, I hope you don't mind."

They looked at each other. Sofya's warning reverberated in their minds. Zapphar is the main source of drugs and experimental aphrodisiacs of the Japanese Yakuza and, according to their daughter, loves to test it to unsuspecting subjects.

Zapphar poured the rice wine in three small glasses. He took one and gave the other two to them, "Try it. I find the taste quite addicting." He said before he consumed his glass of sake in one gulp.

Irina uncertainly took the glass and held it in her hand. Sofya explicitly cautioned them about this, but Zapphar drank the wine from the bottle. He wouldn't drink it if he put drugs in it, right?

She took a sip from the glass. He was right; it is fairly sweet compared to other rice wines. She took a quick glance at Jack and found him tasting the wine.

"Tantalizing to the taste buds, isn't it?" Zapphar asked and poured more sake for himself, "Do you want to…?"

Irina shook her head, "I don't really drink that much." She said, "But thank you."

He looked at Jack, who shook his head, "I plan to work tonight."

Their target chuckled, "Oh, well. At least Jordan and Celina will be able to taste it." He said and drank the wine again.

Irina's eyes met with his. They have the same thought running in their minds; what is this therapist/terrorist planning to do?

-x-x-x-

He massaged the base of his neck as he stared at the laptop. Marshall sent him the analysis of the sample of drugs Nadia took from Zapphar. One of the compounds matched the drugs that were found in Arvin's body when he was attacked in his own house. Marshall told him that he will send the results to APO.

His cell phone rang. He turned off his computer as he picked up the phone, "Clifford."

"_He's watching you."_

Jack raised a brow. He recognized his daughter's voice, "Uh, hello, sweetheart. Your mother is asleep." He said in a light, un-Jack Bristow-like tone.

"_Zapphar has a camera installed in your bedroom. Thankfully, it doesn't record sound, so he's basically watching a silent movie."_

"And you're suggesting…?" he asked, reverting back to his usual manner.

"_Well, go to sleep, snuggle or whatever. Act like you're, I dunno, affectionate. You were ignoring each other when you got to your room, and it tells Zapphar that you really have a problem in your relationship."_

"And so?"

"_He was acting therapist a while ago and he invited you for breakfast. If he doesn't see progress tonight, he'd probably drug you tomorrow morning."_

"Thank you for the warning." Jack said dryly, "Anything else?"

"_No, that's all. Goodbye."_

He heard a click at the other end of the line. Jack looked at his phone and shook his head. Sofya could be so odd sometimes.

He lowered the monitor of the laptop and stood up from the chair. He then sighed. A glance at the bed told him that Irina had fallen asleep. She had complained about having a headache, and the pain killers she took must have sent her to doze off.

Quietly, he placed his cell phone on the bedside table, and climbed up the bed. He gently tugged the pillow Irina is holding and pulled her towards him.

She jerked awake when she felt his touch. He saw an expression of panic but she relaxed quickly.

"What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously and tried to pull away.

"Sofya called and she wants us to cuddle." He answered, "Zapphar's watching." He added.

She stared at him. Drowsiness was still apparent in her eyes. It seemed that she might try to fight about this, but after a few seconds, she relaxed and leaned her forehead on his chest.

Jack hoped that Hakim Zapphar could see this. He's not going to admit it out loud, but he got worried when Sofya said that he might drug them. Zapphar knew how to trick people and if they're not careful, he might be able to trick them tomorrow morning.

He sighed and pulled Irina closer. He then reached out towards the lamp and turned it off.

-x-x-x-

"We're running the partial fingerprint we found in the transmission box. Nate figured out the trigger of the interference. It was a call to security that lasted for a few seconds. I traced the number; it's Agent Ratzi's." Weiss said and gave his findings to Sloane. He kept up with the older agent's pace as they walked towards the conference room

"When will the partial fingerprint be identified?" Sloane asked as he read the folder marked 'confidential'. The implication to Agent Ratzi might be inconclusive. For all they know, the real mole is setting Robert Ratzi up.

Weiss shook his head, "It's been three hours, so we'd probably have a match by now."

It's just seven in the morning. It's still early, but Sloane could see some agents fixing their desks and drinking coffee. Protecting the people is endless and for many of them, the rewards are sparse. They are CIA agents and for Arvin Sloane, they are heroes without faces.

_Even heroes have to die._ A snide voice inside him said. He suddenly stopped walking, his thoughts, shocking him.

"Uh, sir?" Weiss said when Sloane abruptly stopped.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"What are we going to do if we have a verification of the mole's identity?" he asked when they resumed walking to the boardroom.

"Chase will handle it, but I want you to tail him. Don't let him out of your sight." He answered. They are a few feet away from the conference room and due to the glass walls both men can see that both Nathan and Sofya are very distressed about something.

"Nate, he's not answering his phone." They heard Sofya say. Weiss went in first. Nathan is furiously typing something in the computer while Sofya is pacing around the room, holding a cell phone.

"How the hell were they drugged? Zapphar drank from the bottle, right?" Sofya said, fuming. Her face is red and she seems wide awake.

"What's going on?" Weiss asked and stood behind Nathan's chair

Nathan didn't look up from the monitor, "Here, Iya, I have the videos in the kitchen."

Sofya went towards them and watched. One of the dishwashers was sprinkling the contents of the vial in the glasses before wiping them with a white cloth.

"Oh, fuck it. He placed the drugs in their glasses." She exclaimed, "He drugged only Mom and… Dad. I called Syd and Vaughn. They're okay."

Weiss looked at her. His question remained unanswered. "What's going on?"

"I am watching Zapphar, who is watching my parents make out in the bed."

**[A few minutes earlier**

"_Why did you let it happen Mom?"_

_She can only see Sofya's back. Irina doesn't know where they are and she felt confused with her daughter's words._

"_What do you mean, Iya?" she asked and placed a hand on Sofya's shoulder and gently turned her around so that they'll be facing each other._

_She gasped when she found blood spilling out of her daughter's neck. She looked at her face, and found it as white as a sheet. She tried to say something, but she couldn't form any sound._

"_Why did you allow my own brother to kill me?"_

"Iya!"

She bolted upright. Her heart pounded out of her ribcage, and her breath is ragged. What is this, an installment of dreams? Why is her subconscious mind doing this to her?

Light flooded a part of the room. Jack had turned the lights on.

"Iya's not here." He said, "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head, "It was just some… dream. I'm fine." Her fear began to subside and she's feeling a little bit… odd.

"Do you want to share it?" Jack asked and sat up.

"Its nothing." she took a deep breath and looked at him, "It was just a weird, awful dream." Irina looked around and bit her lip.

After a few minutes, she looked at Jack, "But what's strange right now is that… I'm feeling a bit euphoric."

"Euphoric?" he gave her a look of disbelief. When Irina nodded, he shook his head in return, "I think I'll get you a glass of water."

"Thank you." Jack slipped off from the bed and went to the bathroom. Irina placed a hand over her chest. Her heart is beating erratically and she can feel her nerves tingling in excitement. What is happening to her?

She started giggling and she couldn't stop. She placed her right hand over her mouth to muffle her madness.

"Irina…" Jack trailed off when he found her laughing in the middle of the bed.

"You know, Jack, I think he was able to drug us." She said in between giggles, "There's no other explanation."

He shook his head and placed the glass of water by his laptop. He flopped beside her and looked at her, "I think we should sleep." He checked Irina's pulse and found it to be fast. His heart is beating quite fast and his nerves are also tingling. If this was what Irina's feeling, why isn't he giggling?

She laughingly shook her head and moved closer to him. Smiling, she neared her face to his so that her nose will touch his nose. They stared at each other.

"You know, both your eyes are turning inwards to your nose." She said amusedly and pulled away slightly. Giggles escaped her lips, "I'm getting tired of laughing," she said before starting to laugh once again.

Jack didn't take his eyes away from her, "I know how you could stop."

"How?"

He leaned forward and gently kissed her. This intimate contact with her still brings waves of shock in his body.

She threw her head back and laughed when he pulled away, "I love the way you think, Jack Bristow." She said and caressed his face with her long fingers, "I love it." She repeated and made a move to straddle on his lap.

She grinned widely at him before covering his mouth with hers. It was a deep kiss and she savored every part of it.

In the distance, they heard something ringing. Both ignored it and went on with their business.

As they kissed, Jack began to stroke her waist. He gently traced little circles in her skin and marveled at how her muscles quivered under his touch. She began tugging his shirt upwards and she pulled away from him so that the deed would be done faster.

Irina pushed him on his back and started to nibble his neck. He groaned in pleasure and in return, he playfully stroked her ribs, one of the ticklish parts of her body.

She began giggling once more, "If you do that again, I'll start tickling you too." She said and gave him a quick, wet kiss.

The cell phone in the side table began to ring. Irina pouted and reached for it.

"Hello." She said in a light tone. She looked at Jack, who is shirtless and lounged underneath her. He's smiling at her.

"_Stop it. Just stop it! I can see you!"_ Sofya's hysteria is very obvious to her, even if she's under the influence of drugs.

Irina laughed, "Sweetie, we're having fun." She answered as she ran her fingers across Jack's naked chest.

"_You're not yourselves! Both of you! You'll probably regret it tomorrow!"_

"Oh, we're adults. We'll handle it." She answered, "Goodbye, sweetie." She ended the call and turned off the phone.

"Who was that?"

"Your daughter." Irina answered as she lowered her head and nipped his lower lip, "She doesn't want to see a demonstration of how she was conceived."

This time, Jack laughed, "I guess we have to wade in the dark." He said and slid his left hand under her nightgown and made her moan.

With his free right hand, he reached for the lamp switch and turned it off.

-x-x-x-

"Director Chase will be flying in later. In the meantime, I want you and Nathan to keep an eye on Bob Ratzi." Sloane said as he looked at the three people with him in the conference room.

"What about me?" Sofya asked. As she waited for an answer, she hesitantly looked at the laptop in the middle of the table. She turned off the computer when her mother ended the call. She couldn't bear to watch her parents. And maybe her mother was right, maybe they would deal the morning after like reasonable adults.

Sloane looked at her. An uncertain expression passed his face. Sofya was not an agent, but she was very well trained with surveillance (case in point, Hakim Zappahar). She's not going to allow them to leave her while they go out.

"You can go with them." He said and then resumed to their topic, "I will be calling a meeting with Agents Tanner, Ratzi and Rodriguez later, at around 3 pm. During that time, I want his apartment to be searched for evidence. Be discreet."

The three of them nodded their heads.

"Any further questions?" They shook their heads, "Good. Now, about Jack and Irina…" he looked at Nathan and Sofya. The girl seemed absolutely terrified of what he's going to say.

"Nothing comes out of this room. There will be no mention of this to Chase or to anyone else, even with Sydney and Nadia. Is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Then, I will be in my office. Call me if you have any progress."


	62. fifty nine

**CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE**

She awoke to a splitting headache with pain that could be likened to ten-inch nails being pounded in her head. It was like one terrible hangover and yet, she could distinctly remember just having a couple of glasses of red wine and a sip of sake.

Irina groaned slightly as she turned to her side. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found Jack looking at her.

"Having a headache?" he asked softly.

She gently massaged the temple of her head, "Yes. You?"

"It's gone now." Jack said and stared at her intently. It was as if he was trying to tell her something, but couldn't say it out loud.

Irina stared at him. It was only when she saw little scratches on his shoulders and chest did she realize that he's naked.

"Are you naked? Am _I_ naked?" her eyes widened a bit and she seemed to have forgotten about her pain.

"We're both totally naked." Jack answered. To tell the truth, he almost panicked when he discovered that they were both stripped of clothes and his arm was possessively wrapped around her waist. But he calmed down almost immediately and felt no guilt about what they did at all.

She propped her elbows and sat up. She pulled the blanket to cover her breasts (as if it would really matter…) and looked around. She could feel his thigh muscle against her leg. She could also see that their clothes are scattered everywhere.

He's right.

"_Stop it! Just stop it! I can see you!"_

Irina groaned, "Oh my god. Iya called us last night." She looked at Jack, who also pulled himself up to sitting position, "I think she saw us."

"She might probably be scarred for the rest of her life if she did see us. Do you want to call her?" He wryly replied. He kept his eye on her face so that he could see her reaction. He feels relaxed for the first time in months. Was this a sign that he's ready to cope with everything that was Irina?

She laughed, "Oh, I don't think she'll want to talk to either of us." She could remember the hysteria that came along with her daughter's tone, "What time is it?" she asked as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Seven-thirty." He said after looking at the digital clock on the side table. They will be meeting Zapphar for breakfast in an hour, "Is your headache gone?"

She nodded, "It dulled a bit." She gazed at his face, "Do you feel guilty? Or angry?"

"No. Do you?"

"No." Irina answered and cocked her head to the side, "Well, if that's the case, then Zapphar gave us a miracle drug."

This time, Jack smiled, "I think we could do better without it."

She couldn't hide her surprise when she heard him "What? And miss all the guilt and regret?" she asked half-seriously, "I could remember doing a lot of biting last night."

"A lot of giggling too." Jack added.

Irina smiled at him. Her eyes then caught a view outside the window and she moved her body slightly to see more of it, "Is that a Ferris wheel?"

Jack glanced at where she's looking, "Yes. Disneyland is a block away from the hotel."

"I don't think Nate and Iya have been to an amusement park or a carnival before." She said, thinking out loud. Whenever they planned to go, it always led to it being cancelled because of two reasons: One, was that either Nathan or Sofya was sick, or two, they did something horrible (case in point: trying to burn down the school) that the trip had to be cancelled as punishment.

"We could take them this weekend." Jack suggested after a few minutes of silence, "Sydney and Nadia should go with us too."

Irina stared at him, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I feel perfectly fine."

"Are you sure?"

He raised brow, "I think we should start to get ready for breakfast." He said and swung his legs to the edge of the bed. He reached for his shorts, which is hanging by bedpost, and slid them on. He then looked around the room. Where did Zapphar place the cameras? He asked himself as he stood up.

"Do you think he's still watching?" she asked when she noticed what he was doing.

"There's a high probability." Jack answered and began to pick up their clothes on the floor.

Irina watched him move about. He was entering the bathroom when she asked, "May I join you in the shower?" she said in a considerably teasing tone.

He looked at her without a flicker of expression on his face, but Irina could see that he's trying to keep himself from smiling.

"As long as you don't feel guilty or angry afterwards."

Irina laughed, "I think I'm supposed to say that to you."

Jack reply and instead went inside the bathroom. Irina smiled widely as she slid off the bed and followed him.

-x-x-x-

[Back in LA

The car maneuvered the busy street, passing by motorists, pedestrians, a diner and a gas station. Weiss kept his speed to the minimum, especially since Jack's two youngest children were with him in the car.

"What are we going to look for in Agent Ratzi's apartment?" Nathan asked as he glanced at his watch. He's in the passenger seat.

Weiss looked at the rearview mirror, "Uh, evidences that will further prove that he's the mole."

"What if there's no evidence?" Sofya, who is seated behind them, asked.

"Then we'll have to tail him." Weiss answered as he turned left. They are entering Agent Ratzi's neighborhood and he could see a lot of children and teenagers around, enjoying their summer.

"They should be awake by now." Nathan said as he looked at his watch again. He glanced at his sister and grinned, "Do you want to call mama to check?" he knows his sister was still troubled about what she witnessed between their parents and he couldn't resist teasing her.

She suddenly burst in tears when she saw him dangling the phone in front of her, "Do it yourself, you ass!" she said and punched him in the arm.

Nathan laughed and started to evade his twin's smacking hand.

"Hey, guys, stop it." Weiss could feel the car beginning to rock sideways, "Please, stop."

Sofya leaned on her seat and glared at her brother, "Well, if that's the case, give me the phone and I'll talk to _Dad_."

"Since when did you start calling him that?" her brother replied. Is she just trying to irritate him?

"It's none of your business." She answered and then grabbed the cell phone in her Nathan's hands, "You know, you have the same facial expression when you're thinking. It's so weird sometimes."

He ignored her, but he was secretly relieved that she had eased up on Jack. He didn't want to alienate someone he was close to, so he tried to ward off Jack because he's not really familiar with him.

A few minutes later, Weiss pulled in a parking space, "Okay, we're here." He said and turned off the engine. He looked at them, "His apartment is in the eight floor and there are three other occupied apartments in the floor. Act casually, relax. Okay?"

"Okay." Sofya answered as she opened the door, "Can I use the stairs? I don't want to ride the elevator."

Weiss looked at her. He knew that she got trapped in the elevator when APO went into lockdown. He also knew that she's a claustrophobic.

"Are you sure? Its eight floors up." Weiss asked and looked at Nathan.

"Iya, stop being such a baby and come with us in the lift. We're there with you, for crying out loud." Nathan said, "And besides, you wanted to come with us."

Sofya glared at her brother, "Fine, I'll go ride with you."

Weiss sighed. Why did they always argue when they're together?

They strode in the building and headed to the elevator. Security seemed lax and no one seemed to have noticed them. The ride was a few minutes long. Weiss noticed that Sofya had a greenish tint on her face as they slowly ascended. He was afraid that she might throw up in the elevator, but thankfully, that didn't happen.

Bob Ratzi's residence was at the end of the corridor, the nearest to the fire exit. This was a great help for them since they could escape easily if any of the neighbors got too nosy.

Nathan has with him a PDA so that they could check if Bob Ratzi had installed any electronic security devices in his apartment. They stood in front of the door and waited for him to finish checking, "He's clean." He said after a few minutes.

Weiss tried the doorknob and found it locked. He took something from his pocket and kneeled on the floor.

"Do you know how to do that?" Sofya asked softly.

"Of course," he answered and concentrated on his task. It didn't take long before he heard the slight snick of the lock. He turned it and pushed the door open.

Nathan went in first. He took out the latex gloves they got from APO and put them on, "Do we have to sift through his trash?" he asked when he heard the door being closed. The apartment was quite cluttered, and seemed to be a glaring epitome of a bachelor's pad.

"We have to." Weiss answered and looked around. The focal point of the room is a complete entertainment system with speakers that could rival that of a movie house.

"Why does he need amplifiers that big?" Sofya asked as she walked towards it, "I understand why you'll want a big TV, but can't he get medium-sized speakers?"

"It's a guy thing." Weiss said as he snapped on the gloves.

They started to work. Sofya found his laptop and began to hack into it. Nathan checked the coffee table and the pieces of paper scattered around it. Weiss inspected both opened and unopened mail on top of the dining table.

"I have his bank account here. Apparently, he likes to bank online." Sofya said after a while.

Weiss looked over her shoulder and looked at the numbers encoded on the screen, "Where did he get that $250,000 in the middle of the month? I don't even make that in a year!"

Sofya clicked on one of the icons, "It was a check. Wait a sec, I'll try to see who signed it." She said and started to type a command, "Valerie Ordi signed the check."

"Valerie Ordi?" Weiss and Nathan asked simultaneously.

She nodded her head, "All those big numbers came from her." she answered and showed it to them.

Weiss smiled, "That's good. Uh, could you get a copy of that? We have to show it to Chase."

"Okay."

-x-x-x-

The plane is quiet, except for the chatter of the three women at the middle part of the cabin. Dixon found it amazing that Sydney, Nadia and Irina have the ability to talk for three hours straight.

'Could they do it in twelve hours?' he asked himself as he casually observed them. He couldn't believe how Sydney and Nadia's smiles brighten by the minute as they talked to their mother. How could one person have such an effect on these two women?

He glanced at Jack, who seems to be absorbed with Marshall's analysis of the drugs and the copies of the manuscripts although there were times when he caught him looking at the way of his three girls. Dixon wondered if Jack knew that he was an open book whenever he glanced at their direction.

Irina Derevko. Dixon views her as an ambiguous and unpredictable force of nature. She's a dangerous woman too, but something seemed to have changed about her. Maybe there's different spark in her eyes. Or maybe it was the way she moved. Or maybe it was the fact that she didn't have to keep Nathan and Sofya a secret anymore.

He leaned on his chair. Whatever it was, he hopes that it was not some kind of ruse for her endgame. Blood will be shed if she betrayed them again. And she would never ever be forgiven.

Dixon looked at the trio again before he closed his eyes to take a short nap.

It was the first time he saw them smile like that.

-x-x-x-

Weiss looked at his watch. It was 9.30 in the evening and he's waiting or Bob Ratzi to come out of the convenience store. He has been following the agent ever since they left the office and Ratzi had not make any moves of going back home.

He patiently sat in his car. If he goes out, there is a slight probability that Ratzi might see him. He might get suspicious of his presence and run off.

After a few minutes, his patience was rewarded and Ratzi walked out of the store holding a small plastic bag and headed straight towards his SUV.

Weiss started his car when the mole's vehicle pulled away from the parking lot. He kept his speed slow and he let other cars pass by him. This is a routine surveillance, a basic assignment. It will be embarrassing if he screws this up.

He followed him to a quiet neighborhood with large houses and spacious lawns. There was something familiar about this area but Weiss couldn't remember when he'd been here.

The streets are well lighted, and Weiss could see that Ratzi stopped his car in front of a Tudor-styled house. He didn't make any move to come out and seems to be waiting.

Weiss parked a block away from where the agent was and started to look around. And then, it struck him. He knows why this neighborhood is familiar—Sloane lives in this area and across it was where Ratzi has parked! What is he doing here?

He hurriedly took his phone in the dashboard and called the security room of APO.

"This is Agent Weiss, Golf 5-3-1-0 Bravo Charlie," he said, "Who are the agents assigned to watch Director's Sloane's house?" Ever since the simultaneous attacks on the whole Bristow family and Arvin Sloane, the CIA had tasked several trusted agents to 'discreetly' watch over them.

"_Uh, Agents Baker and Malone, sir."_

"Did they call in yet?" He asked, knowing the protocols Chase had stipulated. He saw Ratzi stepping out of the car and started to walk up the steps of Sloane's house.

"_Not in another thirty minutes."_

Weiss went out of his car and started to check the other cars parked in the area. There was a black sedan at the other side of the road and he crossed the street to check it out.

He took a peek inside and found two men unconscious.

"Are they in civilian clothes?" Weiss asked when put the cell phone by his ear again. His other hand opened the door by the passenger's side of the car.

"_Yes, sir."_

He checked the pulse of the men. They're still alive, "Send in back-up in the area right now." he ordered and ran towards Sloane's house.

"_They'll be there in five."_

Weiss drew his gun from his holster as he placed his phone in his pocket. He stealthily walked up the steps and was totally alert for anything. What does Bob Ratzi want with Sloane? Is Sloane working with them?

The door is slightly ajar. He cautiously went in. Some of the lights were turned on and he could hear strains of opera music from somewhere in the house.

He took off the safety of his gun and quietly looked for Sloane and Ratzi. Nothing seems to be out of place in the first floor.

There was a crash followed by a loud thud above him. They must be up in the second floor. Weiss hurriedly looked for the stairs and went up.

He found Sloane sprawled on the floorboards. Bob Ratzi is crouched over him, holding a hypodermic needle. Fragments of a vase are scattered around them, an audience to this situation.

"Stop right there." Weiss said in a loud voice. The agent froze, "Keep your hands where I can see them."

The agent put his hands up, but he didn't let go of the needle.

"Turn around slowly," he commanded, keeping a steady aim on the man. Sloane seems to be unconscious and he's not moving at all.

The agent did what he had ordered and turned to face him.

The stared at each other. He doesn't know what Ratzi is doing or why he's doing it, but he's not going let him escape. He's not going to let him go away without a fight.

"Lower the needle. Don't do anything stupid, or I'll shoot." He cautiously walked towards them. He kicked away the gun by Ratzi's side and took the rope lying on the floor to tie up the agent.

"On your knees." He ordered.

Ratzi did what he was told, "Don't do this, they'll kill me."

"Then you should have thought about that before you agreed to do this." Weiss said as he tightly bounded the agent's wrists.

"You don't understand-"

"I understand it perfectly, Ratzi. You betrayed your country." Weiss interjected, "You placed a lot of agents' lives in danger."

"It's the only way to make things right." He answered, defending his choice, "You don't understand what's going to happen. They have to be stopped."

Weiss wasn't able to respond because the back-up team he had called for arrived. They were in full-gear and seemed to be ready for action.

"We've cleared the perimeter, sir." One of them said, "And we've revived Agent Malone and Agent Baker." He added when the medics rushed to Sloane's aid.

"Good. Take him to custody." Weiss said, motioning to Ratzi, who is facing the wall.

As the other agents dragged Ratzi away, he took his cell phone from his pocket to call Chase. He has to inform her of the current situation and to tell her that their mole problem has been partly resolved. They still have to interrogate Bob Ratzi on who his other employer is.

He sighed. This day is done. He'll be starting paperwork tomorrow.

But Ratzi's words were stuck in his mind.

'Who needs to be stopped?'


	63. sixty

**CHAPTER SIXTY**

Their breakfast with Hakim Zapphar went smoothly. Zapphar seemed so happy and was grinning at them for almost the entire time. Vaughn and Sydney noticed this 'odd' behavior and couldn't help but ask them about it. Of course they didn't answer them—that was too much information to give.

It's been fifteen minutes since they've arrived from the airport and five since they arrived in APO for the debriefing. However, Jack was dragged away by Hayden Chase the moment he stepped foot on the office.

"The doctors found traces of chemicals in Sloane's system that suggests that he's being drugged for months."

"According to Marshall, the composition of the chemicals he analyzed in Tokyo was the same with the ones found in Ratzi's pocket. Sodium penenthol is one of its ingredients, but there were other compounds in the drug that are not normally found in a truth serum." Jack replied as he leaned on his seat. Chase seems to be enjoying herself in Sloane's leather chair.

Chase crossed her legs and looked at coolly looked at him, "Sloane will be held in a CIA-run hospital and will not be coming in this office in the near future. As of this moment, you're APO's new director."

Jack gaped at her, "I don't think-"

"Jack, you're Assistant Director," she pointed out, "And besides, you're the only one who can control your two children."

"Sydney and Nadia?" he asked, cocking a brow.

"Nathan and Sofya." She corrected. She had the chance of looking after Irina Derevko's youngest children when she ordered Weiss to follow Ratzi. It might sound absurd (and it is), but she reached the conclusion that those two teenagers were both normal and abnormal.

Jack hid his amusement and instead stared at her. How she came to that conclusion, he doesn't know, but he could always ask questions to other people.

"Does your son own a Porsche?"

Slight puzzlement, "I could recall seeing one in their garage," he answered, "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing." Chase responded and looked at her watch, "You may go. Your son and daughter are in the training room."

Jack pushed back the chair and stood up. He didn't utter anything as he turned around and left the room.

-x-x-x-

"Do you think they'll like what we bought for them?" Nadia asked Sydney as they walked towards the corridor.

They are a few steps away from the training room and they could hear their sister giggling from where they are.

"Just don't tell them that Mom stopped us from buying a replica of a samurai sword." Her sister answered and turned to the right

Through the glass walls, they could see that Nathan and Sofya were playing catch with a colossal exercise ball. Their brother was wearing only his sweatpants while their sister was wearing a white tank top and sleek, black jogging pants. They looked like they were having sparring match before they discovered the ball.

"I think they're a little bit on the crazy side." Nadia remarked as she pushed the door open. Peals of laughter welcomed them.

"Aren't we all?" Sydney replied as she followed her inside.

Sofya seemed to be having a hard time holding the exercise ball and laughing at the same time. She also seemed not to have noticed them since Nathan greeted them first.

"Hi." He said, "How was Tokyo?" beads of sweat were visible in his shoulders and arms.

Nadia smiled at him, "It was fun." She answered and took seat beside the bench press. Nathan's shirt was neatly sitting on it, "Exciting."

"No, I meant the city itself." Nathan said as his twin tossed the exercise ball to him. He caught it with a grunt since it's a bit heavy.

"It was… different."

"Was it because Eric wasn't there?" Sofya teased and motioned to her brother that she didn't want to play any more. She then grinned widely at Nadia and went towards her and Sydney.

Sydney couldn't keep herself from smiling. They've grown comfortable and accustomed with each other that it felt normal to joke about these kinds of things.

"Maybe." Nadia replied and smiled back at her.

Nathan wiped his brow with the back of his hand, "Where's mama?" he asked and let the exercise ball drop to the floor. It thudded on the floor before rolling away from him. He then gestured to his twin to hand him his shirt.

"She's with Dad." Sydney answered, "We just came here to get you two."

Sofya tossed her brother's white top to him, "Why? Are we going somewhere?"

"Not today. Tomorrow." Nadia corrected, "Its sort of a surprise."

"Why?" Nathan asked as he slipped his shirt on.

"Yeah, why is it a surprise?" Sofya interjected, making a slight face.

Sydney smiled at them, "Tomorrow's just a few more hours." She said jokingly. She glanced at Nadia but hurriedly glanced back to her twin siblings.

"Tell us." They simultaneously asked.

Nadia winked at her brother, "It's a secret."

"I saw that wink." Sofya frowned, "Fine, I'll just ask Mom."

Nathan smirked at her, to which she responded with a glare, and then looked at Sydney, "Well, I'm good to go."

"Me too." Sofya piped in.

Seconds later, the four of them trooped towards the door, chatting about the things they missed out, like their adventure with Weiss and Nadia's exhilarating adventure in Zapphar's room.

Sydney glanced at her brother, "What were you laughing about a while ago?"

Their younger siblings looked at each other before laughing out loud again.

"We'll tell you tomorrow." Sofya said in between giggles.

-x-x-x-

_February 1987_

The carefree laughter of her daughters playing in the background assured her that the intruder failed to destroy the cocoon of safety and stability that she and Jack had built.

They're standing in front of each other and one of them is in danger. She had taken off the safety of her gun and if their intruder makes a wrong move, she can easily shoot him. She doesn't care if he's Jack's friend or if he's a CIA agent. Benjamin Devlin had intruded their home and has intruded the safety of her children. Jack isn't here and will be arriving from Vienna later.

"I will not hesitate to shoot you, Benjamin. You know that."

He didn't give any response. She doesn't know if it's because he's shocked that she's alive and pointing a gun at him or he's shocked that she's alive and pregnant.

"I knew he was hiding something." Devlin bitterly said after a few seconds, "I wasn't expecting… this."

Irina cocked her head to the side, amused, "And what were you expecting?"

Frankly speaking, he didn't really know. Jack was mum about his reasons for wanting to transfer to Switzerland. He seemed to have forgotten about his wife's betrayal and it seemed so uncharacteristic of him. And ever since he and Sydney moved in the country, he seemed very happy and content. He thought it was because of a new woman in his life and he decided to check it out to see if he was right.

Well, it seemed that he was wrong.

"Not you." And not pregnant. He stared at her. This woman looked as beautiful as Laura (maybe even more), but was also very different from her. He doesn't know what she could do, although he knew that she's quite dangerous,

"Jack is harboring an enemy of the United States. Do you know what will happen to you and to your family if this was discovered?"

"Do you want me to make sure that no one will be able to find out?" Irina asked in an ominous tone. She could feel one of her babies kicking in her stomach and she placed a protective hand over her belly.

Devlin gave her a steely stare. He's not going to allow her to kill him, but he mustn't hurt her. He didn't know what Jack would do to him if he touched a single hair on Irina Derevko's head. The sheer fact that she was in Jack's house and carrying his child meant that his friend still loved and accepted her.

"Mama!" Nadia voices rang inside the house, "Mama! Look!"

The gun suddenly disappeared from sight. A young dark-haired child suddenly appeared, waving a piece of paper. She had a huge grin on her face and seems very excited.

"Look, mama! Syd taught me how to write my name and her name!" she jumped up and down in front of her mother and showed her the paper, "Syd taught me!"

Irina took the paper from her excited daughter and looked at the paper. A big smile appeared on her face and pride surged in her system when she saw the childish scrawl on the scratch paper.

She slowly lowered herself to the level of Nadia to give her a kiss, "Very good, sweetie. We'll put it up in the fridge and then show it to papa when he returns home from his trip."

Nadia elatedly danced. Her long hair is flying all around, "Yay!" she said and grinned at her mother.

Devlin's brows creased. Jack had another daughter and then another child coming in the way? The man's been busy!

"Mama, who is he?" Nadia asked and looked at the man in front of her.

Irina saw Sydney coming in and she tore her eyes away from her eldest daughter to look at Jack's colleague, "He's papa's friend."

Nadia gazed at him with her dark brown eyes. The child was beautiful and resembled Laura/Irina more than Jack.

"Hello," He said and kneeled down so that he and the child will be eye-to-eye, "What's your name?"

She slightly frowned at him and then looked at her mother. When she nodded her head, she looked back at him, "My name is Nadia and I'm four-and-a-half years old." She said. This was how she introduced herself in her nursery class and the teacher told her that she's very good.

"It's nice to meet you, Nadia. I'm Ben." He said in a gentle tone and smiled at her.

The girl shyly smiled back at him. After a few seconds, she turned away from him and hid behind her mother.

"Hello, Uncle Ben." Sydney greeted. She's standing beside Irina and also smiling at him. Her hair is in braids and she's wearing a blue jumper. She had also grown taller since the last time he saw her.

"Hello, Sydney. I was just visiting." Devlin responded as he stood up. He looked at Irina and then back to her daughters, "Well, I better get going."

"Don't leave because of my daughters." Irina said in a saccharine tone, "The girls were going to have their snacks before you arrived." She said and motioned him to the kitchen.

"Do you want to join us, Uncle Ben?" Sydney asked. It was always fun when he's around.

Devlin looked at Irina, "I don't think your mother-"

"Stay for snack time, Ben." Irina said, not letting him finish, "Jack will be arriving in a few hours. You'll have a lot to talk about." She gave him a slight glare before ushering her children to the dining area.

From the back, she didn't look like she's with child. And he knew that he should take her invitation. He mustn't anger a pregnant woman – he should know this since his wife became pregnant three times – and so, he followed them.

He doesn't have any intention to report them. He doesn't know his reasons, but after seeing Sydney and Nadia… it seems like the right thing to do.

-x-x-x-

Their smiles are so bright and they seem so exuberant that Jack wanted to shout in triumph for thinking about bringing along his two adult children to the amusement park. Sydney, Nadia, Nathan and Sofya had lots of fun and he had gotten to know all of them a little bit better.

Irina, too, seemed to have enjoyed their time together. She did notice the CIA agents loitering and following them around, and it irritated her at first, but when she saw how Sofya and Nathan didn't care, she loosened up and ignored them.

"I brought five movies." Nadia said as they entered the apartment. They left all the toys they won in Sydney's car.

"Let's eat dinner first." Sofya replied, "I'm hungry." She added even though she already ate two slices of pizza and a bag of cotton candy.

His apartment, which seemed so spacious when he was alone, was now filled with the chatter of his children and their mother. He didn't dare call themselves family before because he felt that it was too impossible to ever happen. But now… it seemed like they found a second chance.

Jack looked at Irina. She's smiling. She looked so different and he didn't know why.

Nathan and Nadia headed straight towards the kitchen and Sydney and Sofya followed them so that they could set the table for dinner. This was what they agreed upon before coming home. They wanted Jack and Irina to stay together and just… talk. This was Nadia's idea and she was afraid at first that her younger siblings might deviate from the plan, but thankfully, they hadn't done anything against it. Well, not yet.

Irina flopped down the couch. She's not tired, just overwhelmed. She didn't think that the twins would actually be excited about the amusement park since they seemed to be so aloof with those kinds of things.

"They were spinning the Ferris wheel carriage while we were on top." Jack sighed as he sat on the chair adjacent to her. Sydney and Nadia had insisted that Nathan and Sofya go with Jack the entire duration that they were in the park.

Her lips tugged up, "Was that on the first or the second time you rode it?"

"It was the third time, actually. Nate convinced Iya that the carriage will not fall if they try to spin the wheel in the middle."

Irina shook her head in amusement, "I am quite… happy that I wasn't in your position." She said, "Nate can convince Iya to do practically anything with him." she remarked.

She glanced at the direction of the kitchen and then raised her voice a little, "One time, Nate convinced Iya to jump off from the highest branch of an elm tree back in Sussex. Iya broke her arm when they landed on the grass." She could see that Nadia and Sydney are now by the doorway, trying to listen to what she's saying.

"What did Nate do?" he asked, interested.

"He cried."

"Mama, I can hear you from here." Nathan said followed by the laughter of their three girls.

This time, she smiled wider. She then made her voice a little bit louder, "And then there was a time when he cried because a girl he liked-"

"Mama!"

Irina burst out in laughter. She had expected this reaction from him and she was not disappointed.

Jack watched her. He felt a little surprised with her response. He hadn't seen them this at ease in their current environment. She didn't allow herself to laugh like that with his presence.

He smiled at her. They are having a lot of progress today. Is this a dream? This is too good to be true.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang. Still in good spirits, he took it from his pocket and took the call.

"Bristow."

"_Mr. Bristow, this is Martin Seraphim."_

His eyebrows knotted in confusion. Why is he calling him? "Yes, what is it?"

"_Listen carefully to what I am going to say…"_

Shock crept up to his spine when he heard the news. He took a quick glance at Irina and saw that she was looking at him. She felt a change in his manner and was now waiting for him to finish.

"Yes, I'll make sure to tell her." he said after a few minutes. He abruptly ended the call and placed his phone on the coffee table. He took a deep breath, to summon his courage to look at Irina.

"What is it?" she asked in a low tone. Jack unexpectedly turned somber while he was talking to his caller.

He stared at her. How could he tell this to her?

"It's… bad news."


	64. The Amusement Park

**NOT CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE**

Sofya yawned and stretched her back. She's in the living room, dressed casually in a pale pink shirt, faded jeans and a scruffy pair of sneakers. She didn't know where they are going; she wasn't able to get an answer from her mother or her father. They both told her that it was a surprise.

"Comb your hair, Iya." Her mother said when she saw her, "It looks like a bird's nest." She said and handed her a brush.

They are both waiting for Jack to step out of the bedroom. Like her, Irina is dressed casually—she was wearing a white blouse over a pair of khaki pants and comfortable sandals. She loosely tied her long hair in a ponytail and in her daughter's eyes, she still looked elegant.

"Where are we going, Mom?" she asked and started to comb her hair.

Irina smiled at her, "You'll know in a few minutes." She saw her daughter roll her eyes but didn't do anything about it. It's a nasty habit Sofya has.

"Why is it a surprise?" Sofya asked as she flopped down the sofa.

Her mother smiled cryptically and she rolled her eyes once again as a response. Why was her mother like this? Why did she have to be enigmatic all the time?

"Are you two ready to go?" Jack asked as he closed the door of the bedroom. The two women looked at him. Sofya nodded her head.

He straightened his shirt as he strode towards them. Sofya had noticed that both her parents were trying to look aloof with each other but she knew that after the Tokyo incident, their relationship somehow grew better. She might be apathetic sometimes, but she's not blind.

Jack took the keys sitting atop the coffee table and then looked at his daughter.

"Let's go."

The expressions of shock and excitement were very visible in their features. It seemed that, for them, the rollercoaster, the Ferris wheel and the hotdog stands grew right in front of their eyes.

It was very apparent that this was the first time they stepped into an amusement park.

"You okay?" Sydney asked her siblings in a light tone.

Nathan nodded his head. He is quite speechless. When Nadia told him that they were going somewhere fun, he didn't expect this. They would be here all day? They're not going to stay at home or go to APO?

"Are we really going to be here all day?" Sofya asked, reading her twin's mind, "We can ride anything?"

Nadia smiled at her, "Yeah, you can."

"Really?"

"Really."

She tried her best to not jump around. She then looked at her mother. Her eyes were glittering with sheer excitement, "Mommy, mommy, may we go?"

Irina smiled at her, "Your father will go with you and Nate, sweetie."

"Why?" she inquired. The smile, however, didn't lose its intensity.

"Apparently, the three of us are dangerous together."

Her smile turned upside down and she looked at her brother. He had a serious expression on his face but she could feel that he's thrilled about the amusement park too. Nathan then looked at her and shrugged.

"What about Syd and Nadia?" she asked.

"We'll be with Mom." Nadia answered.

"We'll see you for lunch." Sydney added and grinned at her. It was very evident that they wanted their mother for themselves again.

Sofya's face lightened up again, "Okay!" she grabbed her brother and father's wrists and pulled them towards the entrance, "Let's go, let's go! Let's go ride the rollercoaster!"

Irina amusedly watched as her daughter dragged Nathan and Jack away from them. She's always been the child on the inside, adult on the outside.

"After this day ends, your father will be exhausted." She remarked and looked at her two daughters as they followed Jack, Nathan and Sofya.

"And probably be a little crazier." Sydney answered and then looked at Nadia, "Eric's not coming?"

Her sister nodded her head, "Yeah."

Irina could feel that someone is following them. She discreetly looked around but it's too early to know if their being trailed by the enemy or the CIA.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Nadia asked and looked around with her.

She shook her head, "Nothing, sweetie." She answered and smiled at her.

Nadia linked their arms together and smiled back. The slight worry in her mother's brows faded. She then glanced at Sydney, who is at other side of Irina.

"Where do you want to go first?" Irina asked.

Sydney pursed her lips, "Rollercoaster?"

Irina looked at Nadia. Her younger daughter nodded her head.

"Rollercoaster it is."

"They're here because it's their job and I can't ask them to go away." Jack could feel the force of her glare and he couldn't help but glare back at her. Irina finally discovered the presence of the CIA agents tasked to follow them around the amusement park. She was getting really irritated at the constant tailing and staring.

"Nate and Iya-"

Jack glanced at the twins, who were busy with shooting the cardboard ducks with Nadia and Sydney, "They've noticed them and they don't care as long as they are enjoying themselves."

"And how did you know that?" Irina asked in a challenging tone and jutted her chin.

"Iya pointed it out." He answered, "I, on the other hand, am just happy that they haven't started bickering."

"They aren't bothered at all?" Irina inquired, sighing.

"Just to a certain degree."' Jack replied, "Don't worry about them."

"And if they suddenly get annoyed with those men following them around?" she asked and looked at her four kids.

"Then I would personally ask them to leave." He answered, but found that her attention wasn't on him anymore but on the commotion behind him.

He turned his head and Sofya and Nadia each holding a pink bunny. The two of them were goading at Nathan and Sydney. It seemed that they emerged as winners in their game.

"Apparently, we are better shooters than Nate and Syd." Sofya said as they walked towards them and showed them the stuffed toy.

Nadia handed the bunny to her mother. The toy was soft to touch and seemed too well-made to be a giveaway in carnivals. Irina smiled at Nadia as she returned the furry plaything. This was an odd situation for her. While she and Jack argue, their children play shoot-the-ducks.

Both Nathan and Sydney have little frown in their faces. It's quite obvious that they didn't like the idea that they lost.

Nadia was giggling with Sofya. She hadn't really enjoyed an amusement park before. The nuns always kept an eye on her for fear that she might do something horrendous.

"Is any one hungry for lunch?" Jack asked.

Sofya's hand shot up in the air, "Me!" she didn't care if she looks silly. She wanted to go around the park and ride the rollercoaster again.

Jack didn't have to ask the question to know who's hungry. Sofya had a black hole for a stomach. She's always hungry and the worst thing about it was that she didn't know how to cook.

"Where to?" he looked at Irina before glancing at his four grown children.

"Pizza?" Nadia suggested as she rubbed her fingers on the fur of her toy.

The others shrugged. It looked like they agree with the selection.

He sighed. His children were big fans of fast food and this was an amusement park. Where could they find organic food here?

"Pizza it is."

Nadia sat beside her father on the bench. Sydney, Nathan, Sofya and Irina had just entered the horror booth. The two of them weren't in the mood for any screaming or be with a screaming pack of people, so they decided to stay behind and wait for them.

"How was the day so far?" Jack asked. It's a little after lunch and he's afraid that Nadia wasn't having fun. The twins and Sydney were enjoying themselves but Nadia… even if she looked like she was in high spirits, he's probably misreading it.

"It's been fun." Nadia answered and smiled at him, "I didn't really enjoy going to amusement parks before because the nuns were with me all the time."

"Oh." Jack responded.

Nadia placed a hand on his shoulder, "Everyone is having fun, including mama."

He smiled back at her, but suddenly felt hesitant again, "I'm sorry if I haven't been spending enough time with you-"

"Dad, we've all been busy." Nadia interrupted, "It's understandable."

"It's understandable, but not excusable."

She shook her head, "Its okay, Dad. You can't do everything at the same time."

He stared at her. She seemed really fine with it. Nadia always had a slightly different temperament from the rest of his children. She's very patient and calm. She could also be naïve but her sense of vengeance was like that of his and Irina's.

Nadia leaned back on the bench. She could hear the piercing screams of the people in the horror booth. She amusedly smiled. Her mother and her siblings didn't seem to be the screaming type.

"Iya seems to be at ease calling you Dad." She remarked after a few minutes.

He flushed slightly, "She wasn't exactly comfortable calling me by my first name."

"What about Nate?" she angled her head a little. She and Sydney were the only ones who knew about the 'Dad' incident. It's obvious to her that Nathan was still refusing to show his true colors.

"He doesn't really talk to me." He answered and shrugged. If he did talk, it was usually through Sofya.

"Maybe he's just… shy." She suggested, "Or maybe just really stubborn."

Jack laughed out loud, "You're all stubborn. We're all stubborn." He stretched out his legs and tried to relax. Nathan and Sofya were so full of energy this morning. This break was the only breather he might have for this afternoon and being with Nadia helped because she didn't expect him to be super Dad.

It's different being with Jack. She could talk to her mother for hours and not get embarrassed, but with her father… she felt shy around him.

"Do you want some ice cream?" he asked after a few minutes. An ice cream cart had pulled over next to them. Wait; did he make it sound like she was six?

Nadia grinned at him, and pulled herself up. He's really trying hard to not sound awkward and it's commendable.

"Sure." She said and waited for Jack to stand.

She's going to have ice cream with her Dad.

"I'm alright. Don't worry about me." Jack said as he sat on the bench. The sounds he's hearing seemed so distorted that it was like it came from a horribly-made alien movie.

"Are you sure? I think you're turning green." Sofya peered at her father's face and then turned to her brother, "Stay with Dad. I saw a clinic by the rollercoaster. I'm going to get those anti-dizzy medicines." She said and started to walk away.

"Iya-"

"I'm not going to go for long." She called out and gave her brother a warning glance. She obviously wanted him to back off. After all, it was his idea to turn the stupid wheel in the Ferris wheel carriage.

Nathan bit his tongue to keep himself from shouting at his sister. Didn't she understand that he was fine? But then again, this was Sofya he was talking about. She always made sure that things go fine.

"You should have stopped her or something." Nathan took a seat beside his father. He refused to meet his gaze and instead looked around.

"Why didn't you follow her?" Jack asked, letting a hint of curiosity seep in his tone.

Nathan shrugged, "She would have pushed me and ran." He glanced at him, "What she wants, she gets."

He smiled slightly, "Sounds like your mother and your sisters." He shook his head. He shouldn't really be surprised.

His son stared at him. Jack suddenly felt what people must be feeling when they are being stared by him. It felt uncomfortable, but he also felt amusement. Arvin's observation of his son's likeness to him is right on the dot.

"You could hold a stare." Jack said after a few minutes.

Nathan raised a brow, "The headmaster of the school we tried to burn down told me that I was the little boy in _The Omen_."

A chuckle escaped him, "The son of the devil." He remarked and let out a laugh, "I'm going to assume it was just a passing comment?"

"Actually, he was holding a crucifix in front of us when he said it. Iya was very entertained when he did that." Nathan answered and shrugged, "We were ten; we didn't know what that was all about."

"You tried to burn down your school."

"Yes, but that was because we were bored." His son justified. That was Sofya's idea. She asked help from him since she was afraid to light a match.

Jack shook his head once again. What would he have done if he was in Irina's position?

"Oh, great, you're getting along." Sofya chirpily said and handed him a bottle of water and a diminutive aluminum foil, "The medicine's inside the foil." She smiled at him and sat beside her brother.

She grinned at her brother and gave him an affectionate punch. Nathan glared at her, but she gave him a quick hug so that his frown will go away.

After a few minutes, Jack leaned back on the bench. He's feeling a lot better now.

"Dad, may we eat pizza?"


	65. sixty one

**CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE**

_He stared at her. How could he tell this to her?_

"_Its… bad news."_

"Nikolai and Svetlana… they're dead."

It was the most horrible news she could ever receive at the moment. How can a simple sentence ruin everything?

"They were coming home from Australia when the commercial plane they took crashed a few minutes before it landed. Everyone died."

The change in the atmosphere was quick. She could feel her heart being tugged into two different directions. The shock had gotten hold of her and its grip is great. Nothing coherent came up in her mind. Her parents were dead. They died in a plane crash. How could anyone think after that?

"Irina…" Jack softly said and sat beside her. She paled greatly when he told her the news.

"Was it an accident?" She choppily asked after what seemed like an eternity.

He slightly nodded his head, "It seemed like it."

She bit her lip and blinked back her tears, "Does Elena know?"

"Martin has informed her." he answered. He could read the expression on her face but he couldn't gauge on what she might do. She is an unpredictable force right now.

Irina clenched her fist, "I-I can't tell…" she trailed off as her eyes drifted to the direction of the kitchen. How can she tell this to her children?

She stood up. Part of her wants to run, to run away from a far place.

_Please don't make me cry in front of him._ She thought. She's biting her lips so hard that she's surprised that it hasn't bled yet.

"I'll do it."" Jack said and stood up. He looked at her face, then took her hand and pulled her closer to him.

He wrapped his arms around and held her tightly. He didn't say anything since words won't make her feel better.

His embrace told her that he will not let her run away.

It was at that moment when she broke down and cried.

Sydney tossed and turned on her side of the bed. She, Nadia and Nathan decided that they were going to stay for the night in their father's apartment. The news of their grandparents' demise shook them and they thought that it would be better if they stayed.

They were sleeping in Sofya's room. Sofya, on the other hand, was sleeping in the master's bedroom together with their parents while Nathan volunteered to stay in the living room.

Though she only knew Nikolai and Svetlana Derevko for a short time, she felt devastated about their deaths. They made her see another personality of her mother. And when she was with them, they made her feel like she's really part of a family.

Sydney glanced towards her right. Nadia was flopped down her stomach and seemed to be asleep. She sighed slightly and slid off the bed. She couldn't stay in the darkness and stare at the ceiling.

Quietly, she slipped on her slippers and walked towards the door. She took another look at her sister again to make sure that she didn't wake her up. It appears that she didn't notice her leaving.

She stepped out of the room and gently closed the door. She could hear the soft sounds of the television. Nathan must still be awake.

"What if there really is a hell? Do you think grandpapa and grandmamma will be together?" she heard Sofya ask when she neared the living room. This makes three people who couldn't go to sleep.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Nathan answered. Do they have to be reminded that his grandfather was a high ranking KGB officer while his grandmother was a teacher?

He handed the remote control of the television to his sister. She's slouched on the sofa, and her head is leaning on his shoulder. She had emerged from their parent's bedroom with swollen eyes and had stopped crying only a few minutes ago.

"But we know that they're in a better place now?" Sofya asked. She's staring at the TV, but her mind doesn't seem to be processing what she's seeing.

Nathan nodded his head, but he doesn't really know that answer to that. He then looked towards the hallway and found Sydney walking towards them. He gave her a small smile as he motioned her to join them.

"Can't sleep?" he asked when she sat down next to Sofya.

"Sort of." Sydney answered and looked at her sister. On her lap is the pink bunny she and Nadia won this morning.

"Nadia?" Sofya asked and angled her head so that she could look at her.

"Asleep." She replied, "What about Mom and Dad?"

"They're both asleep. I think." She straightened up and ran her fingers through her hair. Fate was being cruel to her family. Everything seemed to be crumbling around them. If another horrible thing was bound to come their way, what could be more terrible than death?

"Guys, what are you doing?" Nadia's soft voice ran into their ears. The three of them looked towards her direction.

"Sorry, was the TV too loud?" Nathan asked as Sofya lowered the volume of the television.

Nadia shook her head and went towards the sofa. She plopped on the lounger next to the couch, "I tried to sleep, but I failed." She glanced at Sydney and gave a slight shrug. She only feigned sleep and actually felt her sister leave the bed.

"You can't sleep too?" Sofya asked and leaned on her brother's shoulder once again.

"Not really." She answered; "I can't stop thinking…" she said and pulled her knees up to her chest. She glanced at the television. They were watching the Discovery Channel. It seems that this was the only channel where the news of the plane crash isn't being shown.

She looked at her younger sister. She had closed her eyes but she's sniffling. She's also clutching Nathan's arm, as if it was her support in this situation. She marveled their closeness, and at the same time, envied it. Can the four of them get as close as this?

A few minutes later, she propped her head on the arm of the chair. A glance at Sydney told her that she's still awake. She was going to say something to her, but a yawn preceded it.

Her eyes fluttered to a close. Her body wants to rest.

They could deal with this tomorrow.

"_Papa, why are you sad?" the expressive brown eyes peered behind the thick lashes. Her father gave her an unhappy smile and gently stroked her hair._

_Her father gazed into her eyes and cupped her chin, "It's complicated, Irina." His voice was smooth but strong. It always gave her comfort._

"_I'll understand it, papa." She said, "You and mama seem so sad."_

_Her father shook her head, "Maybe in time, I'll let you know. But not now." he said and kissed the top of her forehead, "Now, go and play with your sisters."_

_She looked at him uncertainly. What is that he doesn't want to tell? She bunched up her brows and watched him._

"_Go, Irina. Mama and I have something to talk about."_

_Her father placed his hands on his hips to tell her that he __was_ _serious. She made a face at him before turning around and running towards her sisters._

Her body is spooned by his and his arms are wrapped around her waist. He felt her stir and he gently eased his hold.

"Papa…"

Even in slumber, the death of her parents haunted her. Jack kissed the top of her head and took in her scent. Irina is a strong woman, but even the strongest person will not be able to recover quickly from knowing that the two people who loved her since birth died horribly.

He felt her stroke his thumb. She's awake, "Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Not really." She answered and turned her head, "I dreamt about my father."

He didn't say anything. Instead he took her left hand and interlaced it with his. Irina looked at him and was reminded once again that she is not alone with her grief.

She fell silent. In the months that passed Jack had seen her in her most vulnerable state. He became her support and helped her be strong. She might not say it out loud, but she's grateful for everything he had done for her and for their children.

"What are you thinking?" Jack asked after a few minutes. In the past, they used to do this in the morning— stay in bed and just talk.

She intently looked into his eyes, "It's been rough, these past few months." She replied, "And you've been with me in almost all throughout those times."

He raised a brow, "I assume you've been through worse?"

She twisted her body so that they would be facing each other, "Before, I could fool Nate and Iya into thinking that their mother was alright. I couldn't do that now."

"Pretending that you're alright will not make the problem go away." He said. Their bodies were touching. It was intimate. It felt intimate. The presence of death could do so many things to people.

"I know." She didn't want to get out of bed. She wanted to wallow in sadness under the sheets and hope that sleep could make it go away.

"They liked you." Irina remarked as she sighed, "Especially mama. Papa thought that you were too serious."

He felt his lips tug upwards, "Really?"

"Mama also wanted to pinch your cheeks because you looked like Nate." She recalled in amusement, "She thought you were handsome." Sadness passed by her features and tears prickled her eyes.

Jack took her hand and kissed her fingers. He looked at her. She had started to cry.

He then kissed her tears away, "I'm sure they're happy, wherever they are." He whispered. She only nodded her head and buried her face in his chest.

There was a knock on the door before it swung open.

Leo Deretoskiev looked up from his desk and put out the cigar he was puffing. A tall, thin man entered his office with a small leather bag in his hand.

"Do you have it?" Deretoskiev asked when the door closed.

The man went closer to him and laid the bag on his table. He then opened it in front of him.

Two, small, glass vials were carefully tucked in the middle of the container. It was neatly labeled, and it contained blood.

Deretoskiev smiled as he took one. He brought it closer to his eyes and inspected it.

"Are you sure they're dead?" He asked as he examined the glass. The blood seems fresh. It must be checked for the antibodies immediately. He can't wait for his plan to come into action.

"Yes, sir." The man answered, "There were no reported survivors and they all see the plane crash was an accident."

Leo Deretoskiev's smile grew as he returned the vial to its place. He closed the bag and gave it back to the man.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Bring the blood sample to the lab. Tell them that I want the antidote done soon." He said and leaned back on his chair. His excitement is unfathomable. Yes, he knows that it might take a few more months before the plan actually goes through. Nevertheless, he hopes that his thirty-one years of hard work will not go to waste.

The man nodded his head and turned to leave.

Leo Deretoskiev hid a grin. It's time for the next step of his preparation.


	66. sixty two

**CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO**

A tall, bald man strode in the hallways of APO, with an air of authority and importance. His dark suit was impeccable and his maroon-colored tie, creaseless. His black leather shoes were immaculate and rhythmic click of his heels told everyone that he's here for business. His face was grim and he looked like he has a serious matter to discuss with the new director of the black ops division of the CIA.

Some of them haven't seen him before while the others had worked with him and knew his reputation. Nevertheless, they knew that his presence in their workplace signified that something big had come up.

The man walked into Jack Bristow's office without knocking or even stopping by the doorway.

"I've been expecting you." Jack said and looked at the man standing in front of his desk.

"Good. I wasn't exactly in the mood to exchange pleasantries." Without being asked, he sat down on the chair and propped on it.

"And what does DSR want from APO?"

John Kendall, now the Director of the Department of Special Research, gave him a slight smile and shrugged, "I think your question should be: what does DSR want from you?"

Jack set aside his pen and hid his impatience. It's been two days since the news of the Svetlana and Nikolai Derevko's death came to them. He is not in the mood for Kendall's mind games about Milo Rambaldi.

"We have analyzed the manuscripts that one of your daughters retrieved from Hakim Zapphar. It appears that Rambaldi planned to cleanse the human race using a plague of some sort." Kendall started when Jack just stared at him.

"And what does that have to do with me?"

He took a small envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to Jack. He rested his elbows on the arm of the chair as he waited for a reaction from the man.

Jack tore off the seal of the envelope and took out a sturdy piece of paper. He scanned its contents and his brow rose when he finished.

"You want to take samples of my children's blood?" He asked. Kendall can detect amusement and derision in Jack's tone.

Kendall made a slight motion with his right hand, "I heard that there was a… death in Irina Derevko's family. If I tell you that she could attend the funeral, would you readily agree to give the blood samples?"

Jack tossed the piece of paper on his desk, "And why would I agree to that?" he asked acerbically and finally leaned on his chair, "We're talking about my children. Not Irina Derevko."

"It's an order." He said, "Those blood samples might be the antidote to the plague."

"Can you hear what you're saying?" Jack asked, "You actually believe that there will be a plague and their blood will save everyone?"

He shook his head. Jack still refused to believe about Rambaldi's prophecy even if his four children were proof of it?

"I'm not going to get five pints of blood from each of your children." Kendall gave him a challenging stare, "But I'm not going to leave until I have all of the samples."

"Well, then. It seems that you'll have to wait." He took the paper and envelope from his desk before handing it back to Kendall. He then rose from his chair, "The conference room is suitable enough for you to kill time in." His dismissal of the DSR director was curt but not offensive

He returned the paper in the envelope and placed it back in his suit jacket as he stood up. He turned towards the door but before leaving, he gave Jack a slight smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Jack."

"What are you doing here, Iya?"

Sofya looked at Julian Sark and shrugged, "I was visiting Aunt Katya when mom came. She said to leave them for a while." She sat down on the floor and leaned on the wall, "I thought that my distant cousin needed to be paid a visit."

Sark walked towards her. Metal bars are the only thing that separates the two of them. He slightly bent forward and held on the rail and scrutinized her face. She seemed somewhat sorrowful.

"Why do you look… sad?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Don't I always look sour-faced whenever I'm with you?" she asked back.

Sark pursed his lips, "I said sad. Not sour-faced." She looked away from him. Her frown deepened as she bit her lip. He sighed and shook his head, "What's wrong?"

"Grandpapa and grandmamma are dead." She softly answered and let out deep breath, "They died in a plane crash last Saturday." She pulled her knees towards her and rested her chin on top of it.

Sark gaped at her, "Really?"

"Yes. Mom was going to tell Aunt Katya. She didn't want me to tell her."

"The plane crash, was it an accident?" He inquired. He sat down so that they would be at least at eye-level.

Sofya shrugged again, "The news said it was a runway disaster. Dad said he'll check if it was really an accident."

"Dad?" Sark asked.

"Yes, my dad." Sofya yawned and closed her eyes for a few seconds. She hasn't been sleeping well for the past two days.

He didn't know whether to be more shocked at the fact that Sofya has started calling Jack Bristow 'dad' or the fact that Nikolai and Svetlana Derevko died because of an accident. Which was more unbelievable of the two?

He massaged the base of his neck, "Does your father know you're here?" he asked, "He might get angry."

"Why will he get angry?" Sofya asked in a slightly entertained tone. She opened her eyes and looked at him interestingly, "It's not as if you're going to be a bad influence to me."

"I'm dangerous."

She let out a laugh, "Who's more dangerous: me or you?" she raised a brow and angled her head slightly.

Sark smiled at her comment. He stroked his chin and shook his head, "I'd like to believe I'm more dangerous than you are, but of course we both know that, that is untrue."

She smirked at him. She stretched her legs and discreetly looked at his face. Julian had lost some weight ever since he came back to CIA custody. His blond hair had lost some of his shine and the drab brown jumpsuit he's wearing seemed to be swallowing him.

"What have they been feeding you, Julian?" she asked, "You look like you need protein."

"What?" Sark crossed his arms in front of him, "And what made you say that?"

She made a face, "You lost weight?" she suggested, "You look thin?"

He let out an amused sound. He then stood up and sat on his bed, "They're feeding me three square meals a day, so don't worry. They're healthy but tad too bland for my taste."

"They can't serve wine to prisoners, you know." She replied, "And lamb chops aren't exactly ordinary in jails."

Sark rolled his eyes. He didn't mean it that way, but she may be partly right. Wine and lamb chops… they sounded good right now.

Footsteps began to resound in the corridor. He could hear it coming towards his cell and he slid off the bed so that he could see who it was. Sofya had stood up when she saw who was coming.

"You're needed upstairs."

He recognized the voice as Marcus Dixon's. The agent then showed himself to him and just stared.

"Mr. Sark." He curtly greeted before turning his attention back to Sofya again.

She nodded her head, "Okay." She glanced at her distant cousin, "Bye, Julian. Try to eat some more." she said and smiled at him.

Dixon placed a hand on Sofya's shoulder. He had looked for her in Katya Derevko's cell, but he found Irina there instead. She and Katya were having a very heated argument in Russian and he didn't dare interfere with them. The agent in charge of the visitors told him that Sofya was here.

"I was just visiting. Please don't tell my dad." She said when they were headed towards the elevator.

Dixon glanced at her, "Did he tell you not to go and visit Sark?" he asked. He saw her shake her head, "Then I'm not going to tell him anything."

"What if he asks you?"

Dixon pressed the elevator button, "He doesn't ask questions. He just knows."

Sofya took a deep breath and bit her lip. If that's the case, then her father is just like her mother. They know everything that they're doing. It's going to be hard to fool them both.

Sofya shoved her hands inside her jeans pocket and waited for the elevator to open its doors.

She did it.

She had faced the treachery that struck deep in her heart.

She had finally faced her sister.

And she told her the news.

"_An accident? Are you sure?"_

Katya was as shocked as she was. The three of them – Katya, Elena and her – all saw their parents as invincible human beings. A fiery and senseless accident is not possible. Time should have been their reaper, not a plane and a runway.

"_I loved them as much as you did."_

"_And I'm sure they loved you too, Katya."_

The elevator doors opened and Irina stepped out to the hallways of APO. She had asked her daughter to leave them almost an hour ago. She didn't want Sofya to see or hear her mother and her aunt confront each other.

Seeing Katya again brought about different feelings she thought she had overcome. It brought extreme anger, hurt, and hate, but it also brought about a sense of familiarity. Even if she had wanted to throttle the life out of her sister, she also felt relieved that Katya is still alive.

Irina walked past the tables, past the bustling agents and headed straight towards Jack's office.

"Ms. Derevko?" she heard her name being called, "Ms. Derevko, ma'am?"

She turned around and found Marshall Flinkman hurrying towards her. She stopped walking and waited for him to approach.

"Uh, hi, Ms. Derevko." He greeted, "Er, I need your help. Could you please, uh, come to my office?" he said with a bit of uncertainty.

She gave him an inquiring look.

"You're, uh, husb- Director Bristow said you might be able to help."

Irina raised a brow. She noted his choice of words and titles, "And what is it that I could help you with?"

Marshall went a little closer to her, "Its about Rambaldi." He said, barely above whisper.

She stared at him before looking towards the direction of Jack's office. He didn't seem to be inside.

"What about him?" she asked after a few seconds.

He made a slight grimace, "It's a secret, sort of." He's starting to feel really uncomfortable standing in front of her, "Well, you see, Director Kendall was here and…" he trailed off when he saw that Irina's eyes sharpened. Did he say something wrong?

"Is that so?" she coolly responded.

Marshall nodded, "It's in my office."

She didn't understand why Jack would thrust this… matter to her. She was once obsessed with Rambaldi. Giving her this work was like giving a bottle of beer to a recovering alcoholic. She suddenly felt annoyed, but she hid it so that Marshall will not get even tenser around her.

"Let's go to your office."

Sydney rubbed the part of her arm where the nurse drew her blood. They didn't take much; they just took enough for analysis. Nobody explained to her the reason behind it, but she saw Kendall around the office. She surmised that it was Rambaldi-related.

She couldn't contain her frown. Why do they want her and her siblings' blood? Are they sick? Did the DSR discover a series of hidden codes in their system? Or are they trying to verify that they are from the same mother and father? What is so important in their blood?

She was on her way back to her table when she saw her mother coming out of Marshall's office. Intrigued, Sydney went towards her.

"Mom." She called out. Irina, upon recognizing her voice, stopped and looked at her, "Did Dad ask you to go the clinic?"

"What for?" her mother replied in puzzlement.

Sydney shook her head, "They took some blood samples. I'm the first one to get released." She said and stood beside Irina.

"Blood samples?" Irina asked, "Is Kendall behind this?"

"I don't know, but I've seen him around." She took a fleeting look inside Marshall's office. The tech seems to be seriously engaged with the information in his computer, "What were you doing inside Marshall's office?"

"He asked help from me. Apparently, your father ordered him to make an extra copy of the manuscripts Nadia copied from Zapphar. Mr. Flinkman was doing his own analysis and he needed help in some parts." She answered and looked around, "Have you seen your father?"

Sydney shook her head, "I haven't seen him around ever since after lunch." she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and scrutinized her mother's face, "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm alright." Irina answered and took a deep breath. She was bothered by the things she had read in Marshall's database. It was rattling to read something that your daughters have written. She felt that those words couldn't have come from her daughters and yet, it was in their delicate handwritings.

Her daughter didn't seem to look convinced so she gave her a slight smile, "Stop worrying, Sydney."

"I'm not worrying." Sydney replied, "You just look… worried."

Irina shook her head. Unconsciously, she pushed her hair away from her face and asked, "How much blood did they take?" she lightly placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder and they started walking back to her desk.

"Just a few teaspoons." She responded, "They didn't tell us what it was for."

"Why not ask your father?"

"If only I could just find him." Sydney answered.

Irina softly squeezed her shoulder. "He'll appear sooner or later." She said and looked around. She saw Vaughn talking to someone on the phone and was looking at their direction. A smile fluttered across her face, "How are things with you and Agent Vaughn?"

She glanced at her mother and gave her a wide smile, "We're fine."

Her face just lights up when she mentions Vaughn's name. She always seemed to brighten up whenever they talk about the young man.

"Do you want to bring him along when you come over for dinner?" She asked.

Her eyes widened, "But it's our night with you guys. I mean…" Sydney trailed off. She doesn't want to say the word 'family' because Irina might say that he's going to be part of the family in the future. She didn't want to jinx it, but the thought of Vaughn and family made her smile a little bit wider.

She shook her head, "Never mind. We're not going to fit inside dad's apartment if I bring Vaughn along."

"Then I'll ask your father to move to a house." Irina replied, "Of course, I'm not going to tell him the reason for it, but if he does get a house, he'll not have any excuse to not allow Michael and Eric to come for dinner."

Sydney gaped at her, "Mom." She said almost incredulously.

Irina laughed, amused at her reaction. Her daughter seems shocked at the thought that she's going to do that, "I think he wants to talk to you."

Sydney turned her head and then looked back at her, "It's probably just… something."

Irina waved her hand around, "Oh, just go to him."

She bit her lip. She feels conflicted since she still wants to talk to her mother. And yet she wants her to go to Vaughn and talk to him.

"I'll still be here after you talk." She said, as if reading her daughter's mind, "So, go."

Sydney uncertainly looked at her before turning around to go to Vaughn. As her daughter walked away, Irina sat on the chair and watched her.

She hoped that Sydney and Vaughn will find lasting happiness that she and Jack didn't have.


	67. sixty three

Sorry for the late posts. School killed me with tons and tons of papers. Hope you enjoy :)

**CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE**

It was an unsaid rule in the Bristow house that the person who cooked the meal would not wash the dishes. Nathan loved this rule very much because he hated washing the dishes.

He flopped down the sofa and took the remote control sitting atop the coffee table. Nadia, who was with Weiss, was in the kitchen, cleaning up. Sydney was still in the office, still in a meeting. Hopefully, she'd get home early and be in the mood to eat.

He turned on the television. It was set on one of the news channel.

"… _Thirteen civilians died and five US soldiers were wounded in a suicide bombing in Baghdad. The bomber targeted a populous marketplace full of women and children. Seven insurgents were apprehended and it was found that…"_

Nathan frowned and flipped the channel. It was another news network.

"…_a riot ensued in the city of Manila when police and protesters clashed. President Macapagal-Arroyo had declared a policy of no permit, no rally to monitor the people's…"_

His frown deepened as he tried to find another channel. What was it with people nowadays? He knew that they had causes behind their actions, but why did they have to resort to violence?

"…_Authorities said that the plane crash in Southern France…"_

Exasperated, he turned off the television. There's nothing but death and violence on TV. Who could bear to watch all of these things?

"Why did you turn off the TV, Nate?" Weiss asked from the kitchen.

"The shows are depressing." He replied and took the newspaper. He spread it open and began to read.

Weiss, who was drying the plate, peeked in the living room and found Nathan seated on the sofa, absorbed in reading. He went back to the kitchen and placed the plate on the drying rack.

"You know, he reminds me so much of Jack sometimes, that it creeps me out." He remarked and took another plate from the dishwasher.

"You'll get used to it." Nadia answered, wiping the table, "He's more outgoing than dad… I think."

He smiled, "Yeah, I know." He said as she brought the plates of food to the fridge, "He's surprisingly nice too." He added. The first time they met Nathan, he looked like he would kill everyone in his path. It was, after all, the time when the Covenant interfered with the entrapment of Mikhail Premenov. Sofya and Nadia landed in the hospital after that affair.

She looked at him and smiled back. It was true; the depth of her brother's kindness was amazing.

They talked for a while, sometimes sharing the occasional meaningful silence. So much had changed in the past months. She discovered some truths and lies, discovered her family and went through a different kind of suffering. She had gotten to know Weiss better and felt for the first time that she belonged.

Weiss glanced at the wall clock hanging on top of the doorway, "Oh, wow. Look at the time." He said, "I've got to check on Sloane. Jack doesn't trust the doctors in the hospital."

Nadia, who understood her father's suspicion of some civilians, took a step towards him and gave him a light kiss on the lips, "Be safe."

He grinned at her, "Of course." He said and gave her a kiss too. He then stepped out of the kitchen with the wide smile on his face. A look on the sofa told him that Nathan had started to play the crossword puzzle section of the paper.

"Bye, Nate." He said and took his coat slung on the armchair.

"Bye." He answered and looked up from the puzzle, "Does Sloane have visiting hours?"

"Uh, yes. Startlingly, he has one" A puzzled expression crossed his face as he wore his coat, "It's at 1-4 in the afternoon. Why?"

Nathan shrugged, "Nothing. Just wondering." He said and gave him a small smile, "Thanks."

Weiss gave a slight nod and looked at the direction of the kitchen. Nadia was standing by the doorway. He gave her a small wave and headed to the front door.

A few minutes after the door closed, Nadia went to her brother's side.

"What time are the visiting hours?" She asked softly and sat beside him.

"One to four PM." He replied and looked at her, "Why do you have to ask me to ask Weiss what time the visiting hours are? I mean, he's your boyfriend, right?"

"No one likes Sloane." She answered, "But he was nice to me. I just want to check how he is."

Her brother sighed and tossed the newspaper on the table, "And I'm going to assume that you'll be asking me to come with you?"

She nodded her head, "Syd will refuse right away. Iya finds him… scary."

He looked at his sister, "Fine, but you'll owe me one favor."

"Of course, as long as it's not illegal, irrational or impossible."

Nathan leaned back on the sofa and grinned at her, "Don't worry, I'll think of something." He said and snickered.

Nadia took a pillow and threw it at him.

-x-x-x-

"_I can't tell you, Irishka. Maybe in the future."_

"_Why not now, papa?" She pouted._

_He sadly shook his head. His seven-year old daughter is stubborn, "It's a matter that can only be discussed by adults."_

An open folder filled with paper aged by time sat on front of her. She couldn't grasp the impact of the information on her.

"Did you know about this?" It was obvious from the start that she didn't know, and yet he has to ask that question. He wants to be sure.

She willed herself to look up at Jack. She had a twin brother. He was taken away by her father's superiors and he died when they were both seven years old.

"Where did you get these papers?"

"It was mailed to me." Jack opened his drawer and took out a long brown envelope, "It was sent to your house. Martin sent it to me."

"Who sent it to the house?"

"Your father's lawyers."

Irina pressed her fingertips on her forehead. They're being bombed by heart-wrenching revelations everyday. If this goes on, she's afraid that she'll break into pieces and never emerge whole again.

She began to read the papers again. Her twin brother, Stepan (that was his name in the files), was very sick when he was born—that was the reason why the KGB took him from their mother. She couldn't understand, however, why her parents didn't tell her.

After a while, she closed the folder and pushed it towards Jack, "Obviously, I can't do anything about this. It's the past and he's dead." And yet thousands of scenarios popped into her mind if things were different. Would she and Stepan have a very close relationship, like that of Nathan and Sofya? Would they try to kill each other if tempers flared? What could he have looked like?

"Should anyone else know about this?" Jack asked in a slightly impassive tone as he took the files and put it inside the envelope.

Irina looked towards the direction of Sydney in one corner and shook her head, "I don't really know." She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, "It wouldn't really matter if we tell them or not."

"It's your choice." He said and closed his drawer.

They wordlessly looked at each other for a few minutes. What now?

"I better get back to my work." Irina stood up and glanced at the direction of her daughter again.

Jack nodded his head. He watched her leave before taking one of the other envelopes in his desk. He has to evaluate the security detail of the UN summit in Geneva.

Every few seconds, though, he'd look up from his paper and glance at Irina. She seems to be holding fine, but he knows that there's something deep running inside her.

_Don't worry about her._

-x-x-x-

Everything seemed so bright and he could feel his heart starting to beat faster. At long last, he had located it. The Sphere of Life is just in front of him.

The small artifact is at the center of the cavern, protected by glass floors. Only The Passenger could retrieve it, but he had found a way to get it for himself. It could sense her life. It was the reason why he had smeared her blood in his hands. It's the only way to trick the Sphere of Life into thinking that she's here.

It's been dormant for almost five hundred years. But because of him, it will awaken and help him reach Rambaldi's goal. They will make the perfect society, Utopia. And they will bring Milo Rambaldi back to see the world he had predicted.

He took a step towards the center. There was a slight creak under his footing, but the floor stayed stable. He then took another step, and then another until he reached the Sphere of Life.

He put up his hands and touched it. The power of the relic suddenly surged into him, filling him with visions of the things to come. He could feel his spirit being renewed.

Gently, he lifted the Sphere of Life as if it was a newborn baby. It glowed the moment it was elevated from its pedestal.

He made his way back to solid ground. The beautiful glass floor is holding up and thank god for that. He couldn't afford to make a mistake. This is a crucial part of his plan.

The seconds were lidded with so much tension. Fortunately, luck was on his side and he safely made it towards the opening of the cavern.

He sighed in relief and marveled at the artifact in his hands. Tears stung his eyes. It's the most beautiful thing he has ever seen in his life.

'My quest is almost done.'

-x-x-x-

"_Dad, wake up!"_

"_Please dad, help us!"_

"_Dad! Dad!"_

"_DADDY!"_

His eyes snapped open and the darkness welcomed him. Was someone calling him or was that just a dream?

His eyes and ears quickly adjusted to the dimness and silence. No one was calling him. He then turned his head to his left and found Irina's facing him. She's still asleep. He eased slightly and let out a deep breath.

It was a dream.

A glance at the digital clock by the bedside table told Jack that he had just slept for two hours. He bit back a sigh since Irina's a light sleeper and might wake up. She needed sleep and so did he.

He felt her stretch her leg and the blanket sliding downwards. He lightly pulled it up after a few seconds. In response, she garbled something incoherent and rolled towards him. She stopped when she slightly hit her head on his chin.

"Sorry." She mumbled and backed away a little.

Instead of replying, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

After a few minutes, he closed his eyes and joined Irina in the land of slumber.


	68. sixty four

**CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR**

Nathan walked towards the far-corner table Sofya saved for them as he carefully balanced the drinks and food on the tray he's holding. They're in a café a block away from APO and they're waiting for their sisters or parents to arrive. There's been an emergency meeting and they weren't included because it involved the UN Summit in Geneva. What could they possibly contribute to the intricate security details of the Summit?

Surprisingly, their father allowed them to go out together. He also trusted them enough to give them money and a cell phone.

"_I'm sure Iya's hungry. And you seem… bored. I'll call you when the meeting is done."_

He laid the tray on top of the table and sat in front of his sister. She's reading the newspaper.

She didn't seem to notice him even after a few minutes, "Aren't you going to eat?" he took one of the forks and the plate of fruit tart from the tray and placed it in front of him.

Sofya lowered the newspaper and saw her Belgian waffle and hot chocolate waiting for her, "What's that?" she asked when she noticed a tall plastic cup positioned by her brother's hand.

"Latté."

His sister stared at him as if she couldn't believe what he just said, "A what?"

"It's a latté."

She suddenly burst out in laughter. Some of the patrons looked towards their direction but upon Nathan's glare, they all looked away.

"Oh my god, Nate. That is so gay!"

He raised a brow, "What's so gay about this?" he asked and took a sip from the cup.

Sofya rolled her eyes, "Everyone in the family, with the exception of me, takes their coffee black. And here you are, manly-looking and scar-faced, drinking it a latté." She said and set aside the paper.

Nathan scoffed, "Well, hot chocolates are for kids." He retorted, "Oh, wait, I forgot. You're a six-year old kid in an eighteen-year old girl's body."

She stuck out her tongue in response and took the Belgian waffle. The whipped cream was melting from the warmth of the food.

"Have you seen the news?" she asked as she started to eat.

He shook his head. His sister then handed him the newspaper.

"Check out page two, second column." Nathan opened the paper and read the article she was directing. After a few minutes, he folded it and placed it on the empty chair next to them.

"Violence has escalated in major cities around the world. So, what? Isn't that normal?" he asked and took a portion of his fruit tart.

His twin shrugged, "Its weird, that's all." She answered, "They don't seem to have a reason to be violent, you know."

"Of course they have a reason. Not everyone has a violent nature, _you know_." His arm crossed the table and took the part of the waffle his sister sliced, "And please, don't start on philosophizing. It's morning."

Sofya made a face both at his comment and his stealing of her snack, "Okay, what if something or someone is telling them to be violent?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" her brother replied, "They have free will. And besides, if they do turn violent, something or someone must have set them off. That something or someone will not tell them what to do."

He scrutinized her face for a while, "Why? Why do you think that this increasing aggression is weird?" he asked in a much softer tone. His sister appears troubled by it.

She scrunched her eyebrows and shrugged again, "Nothing." she went quiet for a few seconds, "Just forget about it."

This time, it's his turn to stare at her, "Forget about it?"

"Yeah, forget it. It just popped into my mind." her arm then crossed the table and took the plate of her brother's fruit tart, "I'll just get some of the tart." She said and sliced a quarter of it.

"Sheesh, Iya. Dad gave me more than enough money for food."

Sofya looked at him, surprised, "Oh, so now you call him dad too?" she asked disbelievingly. The act of slicing the pie was held mid-air.

"Mama seems… comfortable around him. At least now, I'm sure she has someone to confide her awful dreams with."

"Oh, oh, oh. I have a trivia for you." She looked around and found that the nearest customers were four tables away. She then leaned her head towards him and said in a tone lower than a whisper, "They're still married."

"Really?" astonishment can be traced in his voice, "Who told you that?"

"Syd." She covered her mouth to stifle her giggle, "I think it's funny. They seem to be too busy to remember it."

Nathan shook his head and then realized that his fruit tart is still with her, "Are you finished with my food?" he asked.

Sofya grinned at him, "Nope. Wait for a sec, okay?"

He rolled his eyes and waited for her. If she'll like the pie, she'd probably buy it after finishing the waffle.

After a few minutes, she gave the plate back and ate the slice.

"It's yummy, Nate. May I have some more?"

-x-x-x-

(In a very small town near Siberia)

Bogdan Yulochev trudged up the steps of his modest little house. He has just returned from feeding the horses, his main livelihood.

He looked around. Everything is quiet. This modest little town seems deserted, something that's not normal. Everyone knows everyone here, and he knows that almost half of the population has contracted some sort of contagious disease.

He opened the door and went in. A deep, tired breath escaped him as he hung his coat on the rack. His wife is with his son in a clinic. He had caught this unknown sickness and has high fever, rashes and swollen eyes. No one can figure out what's wrong with him. Or for the other sick people for that matter.

Bogdan slowly walked towards the kitchen. He looked at the pot and found that he still has some leftover soup from this morning. Since he didn't feel like cooking, he emptied the pot and poured it into the bowl. He then took the stale bread from the table and a clean fork from the shelf. The unwashed dishes were ignored as he headed towards the living room.

He's starting to feel a little feverish, but didn't pay any attention to it. He rarely gets ill. It must be nothing.

The mess from the rickety coffee table was cleared as he placed the bowl on top of it. He then flopped down the armchair, reached for the remote control of the ancient television set and turned it on.

The news channel is reporting about the UN Summit. With his eyes glued to the screen, he took the bowl and began to eat.

However, after a while, he grew tired and turned it off. He gently massaged his temples; he could barely keep his eyes open and he could feel a headache coming.

He finished his soup and bread before resting his head on the chair. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep. He had a long day today.

Bogdan Yulochev didn't notice that his fingernails were bleeding.

-x-x-x-

"…_Security is getting tighter and tighter inside and around Geneva as the United Nations Summit commence in three hours. Heads of countries that are members of UN arrived two days ago and are preparing for this meeting. The Swiss government spent almost $5B for security alone and participants can expect that their safety…."_

Jack turned off the television when he noticed the agent he recruited for APO being pointed towards his office.

"I'm sorry if I'm a little late. Your place is a little hard to get to."

Agent Thomas Grace, a young, brilliant agent with a record for subordination and recklessness stood stiffly in front of him. His dark, brooding eyes warily looked at him, as if this was all some sort of trap. Nevertheless, Jack knew that when Agent Grace gets comfortable with his surroundings, his true personality would surface.

He motioned him to sit down, "It's not a problem. Its one of the predicaments we have in APO." Jack then took one of the folders sitting atop his pile of folders and handed it to the gravelly-voiced agent,

"We're a little short on personnel; we have ten in Geneva for the summit and I need you to assist the other agents in the conference room. We've been receiving intel that a certain terrorist group will be setting off attacks."

"What kind of attacks?" he asked after opening the folder.

"This group is known for experimenting in biological warfare." Jack answered. Grace nodded his head and looked at him, "Your desk will be shown to you later, if you don't mind." he added.

The young man nodded his head slightly and then stood up when Jack said nothing else after that.

Before turning to leave, he turned to Jack again, "Does this division recruit college students?" he had seen two teenagers working on the computers a while ago.

Jack immediately knew that he was referring to Nathan and Sofya. They are the only ones who are wearing very informal clothes—Irina's style was more attuned to the office dress code.

He took a quick glance outside his office and found Sofya coming out of the conference room. She's wearing her hair in braided pigtails. A hot pink ribbon, which was tied around her brown tresses, fluttered behind her.

Jack mentally shook his head, "Technically, we don't recruit college students." He dryly answered, "Do you have any more questions?"

"No." Thomas Grace answered and started to leave.

When the door closed behind the agent, Jack took the remote control and turned on the television.

"…_UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has high expectations for this summit. He also lay to rest the rumors about the threats of a terror attack saying, quote, 'the security committee has investigated this matter thoroughly and these rumors are baseless…'"_

-x-x-x-

He took one last look at the sleeping figure of his daughter before turning off the lights in his office and walking towards the board room.

It's almost 3 AM and the Summit has just started. Their presence was very important in the next few hours; anything could happen and if they're not ready for it, it might have dire consequences.

Sydney, Nadia, Vaughn, Weiss and Dixon were all sent to Geneva, including five other agents. They were part of the one thousand personnel the Unites States government sent to ensure the safety of the President, the Vice-President and other government officials. If something bad and unexpected happens in the summit, his daughters would be in danger.

He saw Nathan talking to Marshall. When his son saw him, he finished his conversation with the tech and approached him.

"Have you seen Iya?" he asked. His hair was ruffled and his shirt was slightly wrinkled. His hazel eyes, though, speaks of alertness and energy.

Jack motioned towards his office, "She's asleep." He replied, "Where's your mother?"

"She's in the break room." His son answered, "She wants to talk to you." His mother seemed quieter than usual, as if something very great is bothering her. But like before, she didn't want to talk about it.

He raised a brow, "Is that so?"

Nathan nodded his head, but suddenly blocked his way, "Iya's been acting… a little strange lately, have you noticed?"

"She appears fine to me." Jack answered and looked intently at him.

He took something from his jeans pocket and gave a folded piece of paper to his father, "She gave that to me this morning. She cut it off the newspaper." He said worriedly as Jack opened it and started to read, "Iya has become a little sensitive to these kinds of things."

The article was about a sickness that ravaged a small Russian town and left half of its population dead. The disease had been contained, but its source is still unknown.

This was alarming news. But why was it that this information hasn't surfaced in the espionage world?

"I'll check on it, don't worry." Jack said and glanced at his son. His brow was creased with anxiety and his mouth was turned upside down, "Go ahead, and get back to what you were doing. I'll talk to Irina."

Nathan stepped out of his way to let his father pass. He could finally see the unbreakable forces that bound his father with his mother and vice-versa. His understanding of it grew day by day and he knew that his sisters could sense it too.

He waited for his father to disappear from view before going back to the conference room.

Nathan knows that there will come a time wherein they will handle all the problems that come their way as a family. It is inevitable; their parents are in very civil terms and he and his twin are getting along very well with their sisters and father. It is impossible for it not to happen.

And he knew that there will come a time wherein he had to admit that he had come to admire his father and that he's quite happy that half of his genetic material came from Jack Bristow.

Will he call him dad?

'I'm already calling him dad.'


	69. sixty five

**CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE**

Irina was sprawled on her stomach and was silently gazing at Jack, who was still asleep beside her. The sun hadn't risen yet, and for a change, she woke up first.

With the little light that was present in the room, she closely observed his features. Age made him look more distinguished, more serious. Sometimes she'd catch herself wishing that he smile, maybe at least once a day. It would light up his handsome face and brighten up his eyes.

She sighed.

'How did it all come down to this?' she wondered.

How did they end up living a semi-peaceful life, almost like a family and seemingly without apprehension? Violence didn't seem to follow them each and every day. She didn't have to wait for missions or vacations for her to see her children or Jack. Also, missions weren't the only times she could bond with her family; she eagerly waited for Sunday dinners as it's the time when every one can see and talk to each other. To tell the truth, this was the most normal life she has had in the past fifteen years.

However, she missed being the master of her fate. She missed the way she can just pack up some clothes (or sometimes, none at all…) and jet to another country. She missed her arsenal of guns, knives and other deadly things. Sometimes, whenever she stepped inside APO, she'd feel like screaming or punching someone. For one thing, she never saw herself helping the CIA in this kind of way. She's a selfish human being; if it didn't concern her or her family, she wouldn't care.

Sunlight began to peek into the windows. Irina glanced at the clock and found that it's almost six AM. Jack would be waking up anytime any soon.

True enough, he awoke after a few seconds and immediately looked towards her side.

"Good morning." She softly greeted and gave him a faint smile.

He stared at her for a while, "Good morning." He answered back, "How long have you been awake?"

She rolled to her right side and propped her elbow on the bed to support her torso, "Not that long."

"Nightmare?" he inquired as he pulled himself up.

Irina shook her head, "No. I just… woke up."

He scrutinized her face to know if she's telling the truth. Horrible dreams don't visit her that often anymore and she has regained the glow in her eyes, "You looked like you were thinking of something…" he trailed off as he chose a word "…profound before I woke up."

"I was just wondering," she began as she sat up, "How we ended up being comfortable in our current situation."

Jack thought for a second, "I supposed we couldn't help it." he answered, shrugging, "A lot of things changed radically and we adapted."

"Don't you miss your solitude?" she asked and angled her head.

"Frankly speaking, that's one of the things I don't miss." He said in a light tone. If he had to choose between fighting with Irina everyday and solitude, he'd pick the former.

This comment made her smile, "What about your silence?"

He gazed into her eyes, "Irina, if you were to stand between silence and solitude and I have to choose between the three, I'll choose you."

She wasn't exactly surprised when she heard those words, but it touched her. Her face softened and she reached out to caress his face, "That's… that's sweet."

In response Jack lifted his hand to touch hers. He skimmed his thumb over her skin. Never did he imagine he'd wake up to this again.

The thought of kissing her suddenly popped into his mind. He hesitated at first, but then, he slowly leaned forward and stopped a few inches away from her face.

Irina gazed into his eyes and slightly tilted her head to the side, "Why are you stopping?" she asked in a husky voice. There was also a slight sprinkle of a teasing tone in her words.

He smiled and closed the gap between them.

It was a deep kiss, and it was sincere. They could both feel it, and somehow, it tasted different. Its not as if the other kisses they gave each other were insincere, but the circumstances they were in now… it's unlike the other situations they've been in.

"This truly is," Irina said smilingly after their lips parted. Her fingers are now playing with the ends of Jack's hair, "A good morning."

-x-x-x-

"Good morning." His daughter greeted with an expression of accomplishment on her face.

Jack doesn't know whether to be shocked or concerned when he saw Sofya standing in front of the stove and cooking something other than eggs. She already has a plateful of bacon set on the table.

"Are you alright?" he asked and went towards her. She's holding a turner in her hand.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She answered, and shrugged, "It wasn't as hard as I've imagined."

She turned towards the cooking pan and lifted the other strips of bacon and placed it on another plate, "I didn't burn them, don't worry. The cooking oil was not that excessive as I've feared and…" she trailed off as she turned off the stove, "I feel pretty proud of myself."

He glanced at his daughter's face and found a soft smile. He suddenly saw Irina in her.

"Let me help you with this." Jack said and took the plate from the counter, "What time did you wake up?"

"The usual." Sofya replied, "Around seven." She took the pan and together with the turner, placed it in the dishwashing machine.

Irina entered the kitchen and found Jack and their daughter standing by the sink. Both glanced at her when they heard her come in.

"Hi mom." Sofya greeted chirpily, "Good morning." She turned on the faucet and began to wash her hands.

"Who cooked?" Irina asked. The tangy smell of the bacon wafted in her nose and it smells crispy.

"Iya." Jack answered as he turned on the coffee maker, "She cooked breakfast."

She stared at him. Disbelief was traceable on her face as she directed her attention to her youngest daughter, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, mom. I'm fine." She answered, slightly exasperated, "It's not a big deal." She mumbled and wiped her hands on the towel.

"Actually, it is." Jack replied, "For one thing, the fire alarm didn't go off."

Irina smiled and went towards her daughter, "Of course it's a big deal. You learned how to cook something other than eggs." She reached out and cupped Sofya's chin, "Nate will be so proud."

She made a face, "Its just bacon. I've seen Dad cook this ten thousand times. And besides, you haven't tasted it yet."

"It smells good to me." Jack said and took the coffee mugs from the cupboard, "That pretty much tells us that it's good."

"Jackfruits smell horrible, but they taste good." She remarked.

Her father raised a brow, "Jackfruits aren't bacon."

Irina laughed, "Let's just eat it so that we'll know what it tastes like," She said and kissed her daughter's forehead, "Okay?"

"Okay." Sofya garbled as they went to their seats.

-x-x-x-

The long, powerful leg almost missed her head by a few inches. Sydney, who was caught off-guard, stumbled backwards, but immediately regained her balance and took an attack stance. Her opponent did the same.

They stare at each other and wait. Beads of sweat trickle down her forehead. Her adversary has the litheness and agility of a cat, a disadvantage for her. She knows, however, that she can compensate it with her strength and quickness.

Her opponent suddenly pounced towards her. This time, Sydney was prepared for the attack and effectively blocked the punch. Swiftly, they began to move across the floor, exchanging blows. It was like an elaborate, spontaneous dance.

She successfully blocked a roundhouse kick and a knife punch, but failed to anticipate the low kick that followed it. It didn't hurt, but it was strong enough to knock her off her feet.

As she fell down the mat, she realized that she's controlling her strength too much.

"Don't hold back Sydney." Her opponent said, "Don't be afraid to hurt me."

She lay flat on her stomach and sighed resignedly. The rubber mat felt so comfortable right now, "I quit." She replied, "I don't want to hurt you… that much, anyway."

Her opponent walked towards her and stood by her side, "You already shot me in the arm. What's so different about sparring?"

"That was different, mom." Sydney let out a deep breath and sat up, "You don't shoot each other when you spar."

Irina took off her protective head gear and sat beside her daughter, "Yes, but you don't give up when you don't want to hurt your enemy, especially when you're in a real situation."

Sydney tucked an errant strand of hair away from her face, "I'm not going to quit on real situations, but I'm quite sure that my family will not be my enemy… in the future." She added, remembering that she shot both her mother and sister months before.

Irina placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her, "Do you want to go for another round?"

Her daughter shook her head, "Maybe next time." She replied, and smiled back at her.

-x-x-x-

From where he was seated, Jack could clearly see that Nadia was on her way towards Nathan and his newly installed desk by the entrance of APO. Together with him was Sofya, who was playing with a handheld video game. His youngest daughter wasn't allowed to do work that was not stipulated in the agreement.

"Jack, are you still listening?"

He brought his attention back at his visitor. Timothy Spade had worked with him before and Jack taught him almost everything he knew about being a field agent. Timothy Spade was a good agent, but he was better with office politics than being a team player.

Chase told him that someone from Langley would be visiting. He didn't expect it to be this man.

"What makes you think I've stopped listening?" Jack asked sardonically and leaned back on his chair.

Timothy Spade shook his head in slight annoyance, "The disease that ravaged the town of Kolstok still isn't known. The Russian government isn't divulging any information about it and no one can provide outside intel about it."

"And what do you want us to do?" Jack asked, "I don't think you came all the way from Virginia for this matter."

"Well, I also have the responsibility of overseeing that your daughter's agreement is being followed. Sofya's her name right?" he asked and waited for a beat before continuing, "I need to speak with her, but Kolstok is the first thing in my list right now."

"What do you want us to do, Tim?" he asked again, "We can't just drop agents in Kolstok. We don't know if the disease is contagious. The CIA has operatives within Kremlin; I suggest you look for your answers there."

"Its not Kremlin we're looking at, Jack." Timothy Spade answered, "A certain Ignatius Radetskii surfaced in the radars. There had been reports that this division has encountered this man and knows how to subdue him. He has intel on the disease and he's only willing to give it to Mikhail Premenov."

Jack cocked a brow, "Why didn't we know about this?"

"Echelon rerouted it to us." Timothy Spade replied, "We don't want Kolstok to happen in this country, Jack."

"Of course we don't want it to happen." He replied, "I'll get Nate to work on Radetskii. And I hope you don't mind if I'm present when you interview my daughter. She's normally rude to strangers."

"Go ahead, stay." Timothy Spade responded, "It's not going to be personal. I just need to check how she is."

"What, you're now Child Services?" Jack asked in a slightly acerbic tone. He couldn't help it. He didn't want anyone in the Agency to interfere with his family. After his 'experience' with Kendall, he didn't want it to happen again. He didn't want Nathan and Sofya's life to get more complicated than before.

"No." Timothy Spade answered as Jack lifted the phone from its cradle.

"Nate, could you please ask Iya to come to my office?" he talked with his son at the other end of the line for a few more seconds before hanging up, "How's your wife, Tim?"

"We're divorced, Jack." His visitor raised a brow, "Four years ago."

"Oh, is that so?" He asked, and gave a slight shrug, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Seconds later, Sofya entered his office. She was still holding the video game.

She looked at Timothy Spade first before glancing at her father, "Yes, dad?" she asked and went towards his table.

"Iya, this is Mr. Tim Spade. He wants to ask you a few questions." Jack said and motioned his daughter to sit down.

Sofya sat on the empty chair and placed the video game on her father's desk, "What does he want to ask?" she replied and looked at Timothy Spade in the eye.

"These are just some routine questions—about your agreement with the CIA."

She shrugged, "Okay, fine. Whatever." She leaned back on the chair and waited.

The question and answer only lasted for half an hour. They were all simple questions with simple answers and Sofya politely answered all of them. When she left the room, Timothy Spade let out a deep breath and looked at Jack.

"Well, that's it. However, I'll still be coming here until the intel Radetskii has, is retrieved." He said and stood up, "It's good to see you again, Jack." He said and held out his hand.

Jack rose from his chair and shook his hand, out of civility, "The pleasure's all mine." He said dryly and waited for him to leave.

The moment Timothy Spade was out of sight, he sat down on his chair and took the folder that was given to him.

It's time to go back to work again.

-x-x-x-

Irina turned on the night lamp before climbing up the bed and sliding under the covers. A relieved sigh escaped her lips when she felt the soft, pliant mattress receiving her graciously. She slightly leaned on the headboard before taking the hardbound novel on the bedside table. Her body might be tired, but her mind wasn't—not yet, anyway.

She opened the page where she had marked last night, and began to read. She found this book in the living room, under the couch. Jack hurriedly bought it in an airport in Prague, finished reading it in the plane, and promptly misplaced it when he got back to his apartment. It's something that he'd been doing even when they were still happily married.

Her mind absorbed the words and the sentences. She could see the scene in her head. She could see the dreary alley, the small puddles that were filled with old water and the inky shadows that towered over the buildings. She could see and hear the characters talking, feel their fears and nervousness, and sympathized with their disdain and disgust over what's happening to them.

She's reading a very interesting narrative, with twists and turns that made it very hard to put down. Time seemed to be disregarded when this book was being read.

It was only reminded again when Jack entered the bedroom after finishing his work in his office.

"You're still awake?" he asked. When she looked up, she saw him standing by the closet, getting a change of clothes. He pushed up the sleeves of his long-sleeved shirt up to his elbows and loosened his wine-colored tie.

"I can't put the book down." She reasoned and slightly angled her head, "Are you going to sleep?" she asked

He looked at her, "Yes." He said and went to the bathroom to change. Irina marked the page she's reading, closed the book and fixed the pillows for sleep.

Minutes later, Jack emerged from the bathroom, wearing a used, white shirt and dark shorts. He turned off the other lights in the room before going to bed.

Irina watched him by the corner of her eye, as he fixed his pillows and the blanket. She noticed that she's been doing a lot of observing nowadays. It's some sort of past time for her.

'I must be bored…' she mused. Too bad she can't just take a plane and go Italy or Greece.

She heard him gave a slight groan when his head hit the pillows. She reached out to her night lamp to turn it off before curling on her side, facing him.

There was a gap in the curtains, and the lights in the neighborhood faintly illuminated the room.

"Even after reading a book, you still can't sleep?" he asked and turned to see her.

"No, I just like looking at you." She replied. A small smile appeared on her features and edged closer to him.

He didn't give a response and just gazed at her. He could see her eyes and her smile, even if it's a little dark. He shifted his position so that he could pull her towards him.

"I like looking at you too." He said in a low tone. After their conversation this morning, it seemed okay to act in this manner. He liked to feel her near him.

"Do I get a goodnight kiss too?" Irina asked as she smiled wider, "After all, we mutually like looking at each other."

Jack dipped his head and gave her a light peck on the lips, "Like that?"

She let out a laugh, "That would be fine," she answered and buried her head in the warmth of his chest. She felt his hand stroking her waist in a soothing manner and it was slowly lulling her to sleep.

"Mmm…" she let out a contented sigh and laid a hand on his torso, "Goodnight, Jack."

"Goodnight." He replied.

It seemed like a long time before he heard her breath even and her body totally relaxing. Gently, he smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead before closing his eyes.

"Goodnight, Irina."


	70. sixty six

**CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX**

Nathan stood in front of a full length mirror and looked at himself. Nefariousness seemed to emanate from his aura and it's partly because of his attire—his twin, apparently, had fun choosing his clothes. He looked down to smooth the creases off his dark slacks and fix his equally dark sweater before he started to move around. His black, polished, leather shoes felt so comfortable that he knew he could sprint with it.

He's in a hotel – the Majestic, Paris – waiting for an hour to pass. He and Sydney will be meeting Ignatius Radetskii in "Mikhail Premenov's" yacht for an intel exchange. It appears that the information they retrieved from the Omnifam database was just part of the big puzzle for Radetskii.

Nathan ran his fingers through his thick, black hair and took the styling gel on the table. He unscrewed the cap and squeezed the tube in the middle.

When Sydney went in the room, he was still standing in front of the mirror, fixing his hair.

"Agent Grace is all set in the yacht." She said and placed her bag in the couch, "Are you ready?"

Nathan glanced at her through her reflection in the mirror, "What are you wearing?" he asked and turned to her to get a better look.

She wore a very short, green dress that showed a lot of cleavage and a lot of legs. Her four-inch stiletto heels looked deadly and made her taller than him. Her fiery red hair, a wig, cascaded behind her back and appeared so natural. The intensity of her lipstick's color matched the color of her wig.

"My cover. I'm supposed to be your date, right?" she answered and went towards her brother. His spiky hairdo emphasized his long, deep scar and the color of his clothes made his eyes look darker. He adopted an unsmiling, grim expression and this simple change in his appearance made him seem like a different person. This was the person who broke in her house with the intention of killing their father. Mikhail Premenov's personality was eons away from Nathan Mikhail Derevko-Bristow's personality.

"But, I don't date women who look like… that." He said, "Do you have a shawl or something?"

Sydney amusedly stared at him. He disapproves of her outfit, "No, I don't. I'm supposed to be a trophy, high-maintenance girlfriend, remember?"

"I'm sorry, but you don't look like a trophy girlfriend. You look like a… a slutty girlfriend! I don't want my sister go out looking like that!"

"Nate," exasperation came together with his name, "Get over it. It's supposed to be distracting. Are you ready or not?"

Her brother put up his hands in defeat, "Fine. Whatever." He wiped his hands on the towel that was hanging by the mirror before he took his blazer from the bed.

"Let's go."

-x-x-x-

Thomas Grace stood at the deck of the yacht, which overlooked the beautiful lights that illuminated the city.

He, too, was impeccably dressed. It was like there's a very classy party in the yacht and only the nicely dressed were invited.

This was his first mission for APO, and he's with one of the best agents and her brother, who were also his boss' children. He knew about Jack Bristow being duped to marry a KGB agent (Irina Derevko—he saw her around the office), and that they have a child, but like every other stories about CIA agents unwittingly marrying enemies, that's the end of what he knows. He didn't know how to explain how this (the other full-blooded siblings) happened and he didn't have the courage (for now, anyway) to ask.

He glanced behind him and found Sydney and Nathan talking. They seemed relax, but ready for anything. He hadn't really socialized with anyone, except for Agent Weiss. There was something different with APO, and it might be because everyone knew everyone there, except for him. He's an outsider.

"_Sidewinder, target will make an entrance in five minutes."_

"Copy that, Shotgun." He looked at Sydney and found them going to their positions.

Seconds later, Ignatius Radetskii made his way up the deck. There were two bodyguards behind him and one was holding a medium-sized metal briefcase.

"Mr. Premenov," Radetskii greeted with his low timbered voice, and walked towards Nathan, "It's a pleasure doing business with you again.

Nathan flashed him a smile and offered him a seat, "You look well, Mr. Radetskii." He said and sat down beside Sydney, "What can I do for you?" he asked as he motioned the APO agents with him to get a bottle of red wine. Agent Grace was standing a few feet away from them, acting as a guard.

"Do you know what happened to the town of Kolstok in Russia, Mr. Premenov?" when he saw Nathan nodding his head, he continued, "Well, I know for a fact that it is a plague. It is a stealthy disease… contagious too."

"Who developed it?" Nathan asked and leaned on his chair. One of the APO agents went towards the table and placed the bottle of wine and three glasses.

"Leo Deretoskiev. Perhaps, you've heard of him?"

Sydney took a discreet glance at Nathan before she looked at her nails in mock boredom. Leo Deretoskiev? Wasn't he that Rambaldi follower who kidnapped Nadia and Sofya?

"No, I haven't heard of him." Nathan replied, lying. How does that man figure in the equation? He opened the bottle and poured the wine in the glasses. He offered one to Radetskii before he gave the other one to Sydney.

"Of course, you are too young to know him and he hasn't really surfaced again." Radetskii mumbled and seemed that he's talking to himself than to Nathan, "Anyway, he developed this… disease, using an ancient manuscript. But part of the formula was in the Omnifam database, and I asked you to get it so that I could have an idea on how to make a… an antidote. Unfortunately, my resources couldn't do it because of the intricacies of the cure.

"What do you want me to do?" Nathan asked. Did Deretoskiev get his plague from Rambaldi's manuscripts? What is that man planning to do!?

"You have very good connections with medical researchers. Maybe you could develop the antidote?"

He looked at him almost disbelievingly. Is Ignatius Radetskii insane or is his "faith" in his alter ego's superhuman capabilities that great?

"This is too… horrible to be heard by a woman. Do you mind if we speak in a more private place?" Radetskii asked in German.

"My companion cannot understand German." Nathan replied fluently in the same language.

Radetskii nodded his head and started, "Well, you see, I have connections within Deretoskiev's inner circle. This… plague is deadly, highly contagious and has no known developed cure."

"What are its symptoms?" Nathan asked. APO is listening.

Radetskii cleared his throat and took a drink of wine, "High fever with splitting headaches… awful boils will appear on your skin and blood will come out of your orifices." He took another swig from the glass. He seemed rattled with this information, "And after a few days, you die. Once the symptoms appear, the virus will spread to other people. And once it appears, you can be sure that death is imminent."

Sydney, who understood every word, tried not to appear concerned and pretended to seem bored with everything. She fussed with her hair and at the same time, looked around for any suspicious activities.

"When you find an antidote, put it up on sale immediately." Radetskii said.

Nathan raised a brow, "Why?"

"Aside from Kolstok, Deretoskiev tried the virus on a larger group of people."

He kept his cool as he stared at him. The man did what?

"Deretoskiev unleashed the virus in the UN Summit. Everyone who attended: the leaders, the civilians, the media… they're all infected. In three weeks, the symptoms will appear and everyone in that Summit will die."

-x-x-x-

The shock and horror that came with Radetskii's news were contained quickly as there were only three people inside the conference room when it was revealed: Jack, Marshall and Timothy Spade.

Jack stood in his place, his arms folded across his chest. Timothy Spade has started to pace around. The news was frightening, and it shook everyone to their core, especially Jack. His daughters were part of the covert security detail in the summit. If what Radetskii was saying is true, then his daughters were also infected.

"_I have a sample of the virus."_

"_You have it right now?"_

Jack watched through the monitors as Radetskii motioned his men to bring forth the metal briefcase.

"Tell him to take it." Spade said in a rather rough voice.

He looked at Spade first, "Paladin," he said calmly, "Take the case, but be careful."

Marshall looked at Jack. His face was expressionless and his stance was still. But he knew that the man is very, very worried. If they don't find a cure, everyone including Sydney and Nadia, will die.

They watched as Nathan accepted the briefcase before he opened it.

"_It's encased in a thick, glass vial. I've received it from one of my colleagues."_

"_Who is in Deretoskiev's circle?"_

"_Yes."_

Spade started to make calls to Langley. Jack knew the vial will have to be picked up immediately and everyone who went to the UN Summit must be quarantined. They also have to interrogate Sloane to why half of the formula for the virus was found in the Omnifam database.

"_I want to have half of the profits you make."_ They heard Radetskii say.

"Apprehend Radetskii after the meet." Spade ordered, "Jack, may I use your office to make more calls?"

Jack nodded his head. He doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

"Paladin, agree to his terms. We're going to take him into custody the moment he steps out of the yacht."

-x-x-x-

Sydney, Vaughn and Weiss were whisked directly to quarantine after they handed the vial to the CIA agents who met them in the safe house. Nathan, together with Agent Thomas Grace, was escorted back to the United States after a few hours.

Jack, through off-the-books contacts, verified the information Ignatius Radetskii gave them. Further intel given to them by their associates in the Kremlin gave them a more horrifying picture of the disease.

Death might be nearer once the symptoms started to appear, but that is not the end of the story. The body of the person afflicted will deteriorate - internally and externally – painfully. The dead, on the other hand, will exhibit yellowish-skin and bluish lips. Pus will come out of their boils and orifices. And worst of all, it spares no one.

They have placed every citizen who attended the UN Summit in isolation. The President, the Vice-President and their wives were being kept in a top-secret, underground facility. The heads of the other countries who participated in the Summit were discreetly informed. If this kind of information was leaked out, it would bring the world to a panic.

"Yes, sir… yes. I'll contact you as soon as we have information." Jack said and returned the phone back to its cradle.

He sighed and leaned back on his seat. He, Irina and Sofya have been here for three days. It's also been a week since the virus was given to the CIA. They still haven't found an antidote.

They are also trying to track down Deretoskiev and his cohorts. So far, there's no sign of them anywhere.

He stared outside. Almost half of the people in APO were in quarantine. The CIA granted Sofya temporary clearance so that she could help around. However, he could see that she's sleeping on Nathan's table. Irina's drinking coffee and reading a folder.

'Maybe we should go home…' he thought and stood up.

He walked out his office and went towards Irina. But halfway there, Marshall suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Mr. Bristow." He breathlessly said. Marshall looked disheveled, as if he didn't get any sleep for the past week.

Jack stared at him and waited for him to say something.

"Director Chase gave me a copy of the composition of the virus, you know, just in case I could help. Nate told me to check on the Rambaldi stuff since Radetskii said something about getting it from an ancient manuscript." He said and gave him several pieces of paper,

"Well, I've analysed it, and guess what? It was in one of the manuscripts written by… er, the Passenger. It was still in Italian."

Jack read the files given to him. No expression passed his face.

"Mr. Bristow, Rambaldi made a prophecy about this." Marshall remarked.

He looked at the tech and gave a slight, uncertain nod. If this is the plague Rambaldi was talking about, then the DSR was right; his children's blood is the antidote.

Without saying a word, Jack turned his heel and left.

-x-x-x-

_A week later_

"The media is starting to notice this… situation. Do we have any progress on the antidote?"

Hayden Chase impassively looked at the speaker, a senator, before looking at her other companions—heads of government agencies. They all have the same answer to that: zero progress at all.

"The President and the Vice-President are showing the first symptoms of this disease."

She didn't say anything. The DSR has joined in the search for the cure, bringing in the tools that were mentioned in the Rambaldi manuscripts. Yes, there was progress, but it wasn't bringing them any closer to a viable antidote.

"Goddamnit people! Say something!"

"We are doing everything we can, Senator Tiffman." Chase said in a clear voice, "The virus is a new breed. Our researchers and scientists are having a hard time discovering the weak spot of the disease."

"The President and Vice-President of the United States are dying. Are you telling me that we still don't have anything?"

No one dared to speak. If they say yes, then they were admitting that they were incapable of saving their leaders. If they say no, then it's just a lie.

"I was afraid of this." The senator mumbled and stared at them. The directors of the agencies stared back at him.

Senator Tiffman sighed, "Someone contacted the Office of the President, claiming to have a cure."

Chase raised a brow, but waited for the man to continue.

"He said he will give it to us for a price."

"How can we be sure that it really is a cure?" The Director of the NSA asked.

Senator Tiffman leaned on his chair, "The man claimed to be Leo Deretoskiev, the creator of this disease."

Terse silence followed and the directors looked at each other. Deretoskiev is going to give them the cure, but he wants something in return? It's not going to be money—the man has resources to make a biological weapon. It's definitely not going to be protection or asylum—the man has the ability to disappear under radar. What does the government have that he wants?

"What does he want in return?" the Director of the FBI asked.

Senator Tiffman looked at Chase. The moment their eyes met, she suddenly had a feeling of what Deretoskiev wanted.

"Mr. Deretoskiev's request is simple. He will give us the antidote if we hand over Agent Jack Bristow and his family."


	71. sixty seven

**CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN**

"_This is for the greater good, Jack."_

"_We know it's hard for you. But a lot of people will die if we don't give in."_

"_You're asking me to surrender my family! Handing us to him will not stop him from spreading the virus!"_

"_If we don't give what he wants, we will not get the antidote. It's better to sacrifice six people than to sacrifice six million!"_

She's calmly sat on the big leather chair and stared at him, who stood a few feet away from her. Even from afar, their tension could be seen.

Her icy stare burned his very soul. The CIA'S insanity had gotten hold of him. Did he understand what he had just said? He said he wanted to bring the whole family to Leo Deretoskiev's doorstep?

"You are going mad." Irina stated.

"It's an order," Jack replied, "a direct order. I can't say no to it."

"Deretoskiev will want the prophecy fulfilled." She answered, letting her fury show, "I don't know about you, Jack, but I don't want any of my children to die."

"I don't want **my** children to die too-"

"And yet, somehow, you agreed to what they want you to do." She interrupted.

He tried to contain his growing anger, "I did not agree to anything. I was coerced! They were concerned with the sixty million who will die if we didn't agree to what he wanted." He said and started to pace around.

"So now, you're forcing this decision upon me!?" she exclaimed and stood up, "If the prophecy is carried out, the sixty million people your government is trying to protect will DIE."

Jack started to walk around the conference room, "We don't have any choice."

She clenched her fists by her side. _Don't lose your temper. Don't lose it._ "What do you want me to do, accept this… suicide mission without putting up a fight?" she sardonically asked, "My children are not sacrificial lambs!"

"**WE** are not sacrificial lambs." He replied roughly and showed a flicker of his emotions. For a brief second, she saw despair and anger in his face, "We have a week. Six days from now, we will be sent to Greece."

Irina stared at him. He's trying to tell her something.

She walked towards Jack and only stopped when the gap between them was closed. She looked at his face and gazed into his eyes.

"What do you want us to do?" she said in a very soft tone. His face went from expressionless to full of sorrow. They're trapped in this mess. Should they give in to their desire and save their family? Or should they save the people and in the process kill themselves?

"I… I don't know."

Tears blurred her vision. Jack reached out and caressed her cheek before he wrapped his arms around her. He knew, however, that this act will not ease her desperation, her anger, and her frustration.

"I'm sorry." He whispered and embraced her tightly, "We'll think of something."

"What if we can't?"

"That's not going to happen." He answered, "Everyone in the family is highly gifted in escaping in this kind of situation." Humor was infused with his tone, and he hoped that it could somehow uplift both their spirits.

Irina tried to take comfort in his words, but her dread only doubled.

"We have to tell them."

"Syd and Nadia were already informed; they'd be released later." He responded. "They're not exactly happy with the reason to why they are being let go."

She looked at him, "They're not showing any of the symptoms?"

Jack shook his head, "None at all." He pulled away from her slightly to see her face better, "They are the only ones who aren't exhibiting the signs of the disease."

Irina closed her eyes and leaned her forehead onto his chest. It's not a good sign. It means that Rambaldi's words might be fulfilled.

-x-x-x-

Sofya looked warily around her surroundings before she edged her seat closer to her brother and sat still. After their mother told them of what Deretoskiev wanted, they were suddenly taken by agents to the upper floors of APO.

They knew that they were in an interrogation room. There was a long, wide table and a one-way mirror in front of them. It was an act to intimidate the people being interrogated.

"This is stupid." Sofya mumble

The door swung open and a tall, bald man entered, followed by two other agents. One was holding a leather briefcase.

"Agent Bristow." He referred to Nathan as he sat down, "And Miss… Bristow." He said when he looked at Sofya. It was the man who ordered that samples of their blood be taken—Director Kendall of the DSR.

"I'm glad to see that you've agreed to cooperate." He dryly said and motioned his men to leave them and the briefcase.

The twins kept their faces impassive. Cooperate? They were grabbed from their seats and dragged in here without being told why. They call that cooperation!?

"We want Miss Bristow to review the Rambaldi manuscripts that were retrieved from Hakim Zapphar." Kendall said.

Nathan raised a brow. He didn't want his sister to be put through this again, "Why do you want it reviewed?"

"We're looking for an antidote to the virus Leo Deretoskiev created. Rambaldi was the source of this… plague. Most probably, he will also have the answer to it."

"Don't you have analysts for that?" Nathan said and gave Kendall a steely stare.

The man sighed. It was like talking to Jack Bristow all over again, "Your sister has a better knowledge about it."

"My sister-"

"Nate, shut up." Sofya said, interrupting her brother. She turned to her twin and sharply said in Russian, "I don't want to be handed to Deretoskiev in a fucking silver platter."

"Even if you find the antidote, we'll still be handed over to him." he replied in the same language, "We'll still die."

"Zatkni yebalo!" She angrily replied, "We're not going to die."

Nathan clenched his jaw, "I'm just trying to protect you."

"Stop trying. You're not helping." She said sarcastically.

Kendall, who partly understood the conversation, didn't dare to butt in. It was quite obvious that they were having a heated argument.

She took a deep breath and heaved a sigh, "I'm just going to analyze the papers. They're not going to inject me with that goo." She said, "Okay, Nate?"

Her brother gritted his teeth, "Fine."

Sofya then turned towards Kendall, "Where are the manuscripts?" she asked in English and in a much calmer tone.

Kendall opened the briefcase and set it the papers on the table, "The reason to why I asked your brother to come with you was because you will be working with a prisoner in custody. Your father explicitly ordered that Agent… Nathan Bristow should be present."

"Who's going to be with us?" Nathan asked.

Kendall looked towards the one-way mirror and after a few seconds, the door opened again. This time, a twenty-something year old man was brought in and was flanked by two US Marshals.

"Mr. Miguel Calderon will be helping you."

Sofya stared at Calderon and the young man stared back. After a while, she shyly looked away and kept her head down. Nathan glanced at her and found that her cheeks were tinged pink.

He raised an eyebrow and glared at Calderon. His sister was enamored with a man in prison.

"I'll be back in an hour." Kendall said as the US Marshals unshackled Calderon.

Nathan didn't pay any notice to the DSR Director and instead focused his attention on the young man who had just joined them. Juan Miguel Calderon coolly gazed back at him and sat down in front of them.

He took another glance at his sister. She's still staring at the floor.

Nathan bit back an exasperated groan.

'This is going to be a long analysis.'

-x-x-x-

_[The next day_

_Sydney and Nadia's house_

The CIA gave them five days of family time before they were handed over to Leo Deretoskiev. For everyone in the Derevko-Bristow family, these five days can be likened to the last meal of a convict in death row. But they could also use these days to plan something—like their escape or how to save their hides without killing the infected.

"Where are Nate and Dad?" Nadia asked as she flopped down the couch. Weiss and Vaughn had exhibited the first of the symptoms a little before she and Sydney left. Her trepidation is starting to grow by the minute. What if, even after they agreed to Deretoskiev's terms, they still can't save Weiss, Vaughn or every one in quarantine?"

"U.M.B.E." Sofya replied as she fiddled around with the digital camera she found under Sydney's couch. Their eldest sister and their mother were fixing tea in the kitchen.

"A what?" Nadia looked at her younger sister and found her amazed with the contraption.

Sofya looked for the zoom capability of the camera, "They're having an ultimate male bonding experience." She answered and aimed the lens at Nadia.

"So, where are they?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. They went out for a drive." They both heard the camera click and after a while, Sofya showed the shot to Nadia, "You look so worried."

Nadia gave her a small smile, "Its nothing."

Sofya didn't say anything in response. She knew that Weiss was showing the symptoms. And she knew that if she said anything inappropriate, she would add to Nadia's misery. So, she kept herself entertained by taking pictures of every thing inside the house.

A few minutes later, Irina and Sydney appeared. Their sister was holding a tray of glasses while their mother held two large pitchers filled with pink-colored liquid.

"What's that?" Nadia asked when Sydney set the tray on top of the table.

"Margarita." Irina answered.

Sofya gave them a puzzled look, "I thought you were making tea."

"Well, mom thought that margarita's better." Sydney responded, "And besides, we didn't have enough tea bags and it sounded more appealing than tea."

"I can drink?" Sofya asked and looked at her mother.

Sydney grunted as she poured herself a glass of margarita, "I don't think you've forgotten the incident when you and your roommates celebrated your soccer championship. You drank two glasses of chocolate milk spiked with vodka when you were waiting for the pizza delivery in our apartment."

"And she was pretty drunk." Nadia added, "Well, that was because she already finished a bottle of _Absolut_ when they decided to order pizza." She said to their mother.

Their older sister turned to their mother and said, "Her British accent was so thick that it was quite unintelligible."

Sofya stole a glance at Irina. Their mother didn't know anything about what she did when she was in the United States for college; in fact, the only things she knew about her university life were her friends, her grades, and her soccer games. Irina seemed amused, though.

"Iya, you're eighteen. You can drink if you want." Irina said in a calm tone and waited for her daughters to get a glass of the beverage.

Nadia looked at Irina with slight confusion, "Isn't the legal drinking age here in the United States, 21?"

Irina sat beside her, "Yes, I think so." She smiled at her daughter and shrugged, which brought an amused smile on Nadia's face.

-x-x-x-

"They'd want time with you, too." Nathan said and took another bowl of rice from the table.

Jack looked at his son, who seemed to enjoy eating Chinese food. They quietly slipped away from Sydney's house and went for a drive. After an hour, they suddenly felt hungry, so they decided to eat.

"Are you not… angry that I brought you and your siblings into this mess?"

His son shrugged, "Not really. It's inescapable. If we didn't agree to what they wanted, we'd probably be in jail and waiting for the day when we'd be handed over to Deretoskiev." He said and took a dumpling from one of the plates and finished it with one gulp, "I think this is better. We have more time to plan."

Jack didn't say anything in response and took a sip of his tea instead. He then looked around the restaurant and began to eat again. There were only a few patrons around and they were all enjoying their meal.

"What do you think they're doing?" Nathan asked after a few minutes.

"Chatting, most probably." His father answered, "About… girl things."

_In Sydney's house_

Sofya raised a hand, "I have a question, mommy." She asked, her speech slightly slurred. They already finished the two pitchers of margarita and were on their third. Sofya thought she just had three glasses; in actuality, she already had six.

"Go ahead, sweetie." Irina answered. There wasn't a trace of intoxication in her face.

"Do you love daddy?"

Nadia and Sydney, whose inebriation hadn't sunk in yet, both looked at their mother. It was a question that had lingered in their minds for a long time. They probably know their mother's answer, but this is the first time someone asked the question directly. And since their youngest sister asked it… maybe she'd answer truthfully.

Irina pursed her lips, "Why do you ask?"

Sofya snorted, "Everyone knows you don't need Jack Bristow for anything." She said in an amazingly audible voice, "You just **WANT** him."

Their mother sipped the margarita, "What's so wrong with wanting your father?"

Nadia, whose cheeks are tinged with pink, giggled. Irina Derevko was trying to evade a simple question, "It's just a yes or no, mama." She said, "So say yes or no."

"You know the answer to that." Irina replied.

"Oh, mom." Sydney groaned, "We want to hear it from you."

"Yeah… what was that phrase? Uh, 'from the goat's mouth'?" Nadia asked.

Sofya laughed out loud, "It's from the horse's mouth, Nadia… or maybe it was a cow… I don't really know…"

Nadia started to laugh to, "Oh, yeah, that." She turned to her mother, "Just tell us… we're not going to tell dad."

"Or Nate." Sofya piped in, "Cos, you know… he's really noisy."

Irina sipped from the glass. Silence suddenly reigned in the living room. Would their mother give them a straight answer?

She set the glass on top of the table and clasped her hands together.

"Of course, I love your father. The question is does he love me?"

"What kind of question is that, mom?" Sydney disbelievingly asked, "I mean, duh, of course he loves you. Everyone can see it… well, maybe except for the two of you."

Sofya began to laugh again and resumed taking pictures.

"Hey! I've been looking for that. Where did you find it?" Sydney asked.

She zoomed in the lenses and focused on her sister's face. Sydney's nose and ears were red, "Under your couch."

"Oh," a contemplative look passed her face, "That's why I couldn't find it."

Sofya giggled again, "I'm borrowing it, okay?" without waiting for a response, she focused the camera on her mother and smiled widely, "Mommy, smile!"

-x-x-x-

_The following morning_

Irina watched as her daughters surround their father and talked to him. Sofya was still playing with Sydney's digital camera and was clicking away with the conversation. Nathan was in the kitchen. He volunteered to make breakfast since all his sisters seemed to have splitting headaches when they woke up.

The squeak of Nathan's sneakers reached her ears as she felt his son walk behind her. She turned her head to look at him. Nathan smiled at her and she smiled back.

"They don't seem… to have a hangover to me." He remarked and sat down beside his mother.

"I gave them aspirin." Irina replied, "And how's my only son doing?"

"I'm fine, mama." He answered and leaned forward to give her a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for asking. How about you?"

Irina chuckled; "I'm feeling alright…" she trailed off and looked at the direction of Jack and the girls. A frown replaced her smile, "Considering that we only have four more days before Deretoskiev gets us."

"Mama, we don't… we don't really believe in the prophecies." Nathan sighed, "It's somehow preposterous. How could our deaths lead to the death of millions of people?"

"It's something that can't be explained."

"But… but we all have a strong will." Her son said, "Maybe that will be the downfall of the prophecy. He said that one will kill the other… what if we choose not to pull the trigger, or throw the knife, or tighten the knot? Then, the prophecy will not be fulfilled."

Irina sighed and shook her head. Her son seemed optimistic about it. How can she tell him that Deretoskiev was capable of doing anything to implement Rambaldi's wishes?

"Yeah, dad. We dare you."

Both Nathan and Irina looked towards the living room and found Jack standing up from the couch. Sofya, Nadia and Sydney were giggling in their seats.

Irina raised a brow as Jack went towards them. He gently pulled her to her feet, wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a deep, demanding kiss.

After a few seconds, they pulled away. They were both breathless and flushed.

Jack leaned forward to her ear and whispered, "They wanted me to kiss you in front of them." He heard a laugh from her and suddenly felt her nibbling his ear.

She pressed her body against his and rested her head on his shoulders. He tightened his hold on her and they stood in front of their children, locked in an embrace.

"Uh, we're going to have breakfast now." Nathan loudly said and motioned his sisters to go to the kitchen with him.

When Jack knew that they Nadia, Sydney and the twins were gone, he caressed her hair and took a deep breath.

"I have a plan about the antidote exchange."


	72. sixty eight

**CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT**

They had a plan but it was half-baked and involved Kendall and the DSR's help. But everyone in the family knew that sometimes, half-baked plans work better than fully formed ones.

A passive transmitter was injected in each of the members of the family. Once the transmitters become active, Kendall and his men would then find their location and extract them. Jack also asked that they be given another set of transmitters. This time, it's for Deretoskiev and his minions.

The DSR had also begun to make an antidote four days ago, thanks to the brilliant analysis of the Rambaldi manuscripts by his daughter and Miguel Calderon. They'd probably have a viable antidote by the time they meet with Deretoskiev.

"We'll be following you as soon as the tactical group gets their antidote." Kendall said to Jack as they walked towards the plane hangar.

"Is it usable?" Jack asked.

Kendall nodded his head slightly, "Adding a sample of you and Irina's blood in the mixture brought about significant changes in the structure of the antidote." He answered, "They tested it on an agent… he seemed to be improving."

Jack didn't give a response and instead looked straight ahead. He shouldn't get his hopes up; they don't even know what Deretoskiev's endgame was. What if he releases an even more powerful virus after he hand the antidote? Everything will be useless.

From the distance, he could see Marshall talking to Sydney. The tech, who gave them the necessary tools for their plan, seemed to be in tears. His daughter appeared to be consoling him, but it looked like her words weren't helping at all.

His eyes scanned for the rest of his family. Nathan and Sofya were talking to Agent Grace while Irina and Nadia were seated by side of the plane. From where he was standing, he could tell from their expressions that they were ready to leave… and ready to die.

Jack suddenly felt like backing out. What if the plan fails? He didn't want to sacrifice his family. How could he do this to them? He lost them before… how could he bear losing them again?

"I know we're not-" He wasn't able to continue what he was going to say because Kendall slapped him in the back.

"Don't worry, Jack. Everything will turn out the way you want." Kendall said and a small smile appeared on his face, "You'll all be fine after this."

Jack nodded his head slightly. Maybe Kendall's right. Maybe they will get out of this predicament in one piece.

_01 June 1987_

_Bern, Switzerland_

He took one last look at his wife's sleeping form before he slipped out of the room. The anesthetic hadn't worn off yet.

The moment he heard the door clasp behind him, he couldn't help but lean back on it and sigh. Irina gave birth to their twins last night. He had a son and a daughter, two new siblings for Sydney and Nadia.

He slowly walked in the middle of the corridor, with a slight feeling of disorientation. He was tired—he could barely sleep a wink last night. It wasn't because he couldn't contain his excitement; no it wasn't because of that. His daughter, who entered the world three hours after his son, was experiencing respiratory distress when she arrived. They had to put her in the incubator to help her breathe. The nurses and doctor told him it was not a big problem since there were a lot of babies who acted that way when they were born. But Jack couldn't help but feel worried.

A glance at his watch told him that he should get home soon. Cathy Devlin, Ben's wife, could only watch over his two daughters until 9 in the morning since she also had to get home. He'd probably bring his daughters to visit their mother in the afternoon. He also took a few days of sick leave from work.

Jack didn't realize that he was walking towards the nursery until he saw its viewing panel. He froze for a while, uncertain on what to do. He wanted to see his babies, but he also didn't want to see his daughter in an incubator. It would just remind him that there was a possibility that she might not live and he doesn't want to dwell on that.

'Stop it. Do you want to see your children or not?' his thoughts asked.

He took a deep breath and went towards the nursery. There were a few babies by the panel and none of them were his son (they still hadn't decided on names yet), so he tried to get the attending nurse to notice him.

After a few seconds, his son's cradle was brought towards the glass pane. Jack stared the wonderful baby in amazement (eighteen inches and ten pounds). It's still too early to tell who his son would look like, but Jack could see that his child had dark hair like his parents, and thick lashes like his mother and sisters. A son… he couldn't believe it.

Minutes later, the nurse went out of the nursery and walked towards him.

"Mr. Bristow, do you want to see your daughter in the NICU?" she asked. Her tone was slightly high-pitched, as if she was nervous.

Jack nodded his head and the nurse turned around and led him to the NICU. She made him put on scrubs before they proceeded to his daughter's incubated cradle.

She was slightly smaller than her brother, only fifteen inches in length and six pounds in weight. She seemed delicate, but still beautiful.

"Will she be alright?" he asked softly.

The nurse nodded her head, "Don't worry, sir. She's a healthy baby. I guess she wasn't ready to enter the world at that moment."

Jack gently placed his hand on the side of the incubator. Almost instantly, the infant began to fuss. She stretched out her limbs and moved around her cradle.

He gazed at his daughter. He could remember Sydney being a tiny baby too. Maybe he really had nothing to worry about.

This time, Jack was able to smile in relief.

'_They're both alright… now we can worry about the names.'_

Sydney stared at her shackled wrists and contemplated on what she could possibly do. They were standing on the deck of the ship, which was in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. The antidote exchange went accordingly but after it, they were flown from Greece by a Deretoskiev henchman and she has no idea on their coordinates or where they were headed. The passive transmitter that was injected on them would not go online in another two hours. Kendall might not be able to help them on time.

She looked at her mother and her father, who were both at the other side of the deck. They were each being guarded by three men and they were also cuffed. Their hands, however, were behind them. Nadia, Nathan and Sofya were standing at the opposite end, also bounded.

Minutes later, they heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. Sydney glanced at the direction of her parents. They had unreadable expressions on their faces.

A man with steel gray hair appeared. He was tall, dignified, and relaxed. This was the first time she saw this man, the man who was the threat to her family, He didn't seem dangerous, but he didn't look harmless either. Leo Deretoskiev had the grace of an old lion—full of wisdom and experience, but even after all the years that passed, he was still fierce.

Sydney tried to keep her face impassive. He was the source of all this mess, the promoter of chaos. But her heart began to race against her ribcage. Deretoskiev would force the prophecy to be fulfilled. What would he do so that he could succeed?

"I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time." He said in a clear voice as he walked towards her brother and sisters. Sydney could see that Sofya and Nadia were starting to get agitated, while Nathan tried to keep his face impassive.

"You are a spitting image of your father." He remarked to Nathan before he looked at Irina and smiled at her, "Am I right, Irina?"

Her mother responded with silence. The old man sighed and shook his head. He then started to walk around, looking at her sibling's faces.

After what seemed like eternity, Deretoskiev chuckled and looked at his watch, "Well, we still have time to socialize." He motioned to Nadia and Sofya's guards, "Please bring the ladies to the library." He ordered and glanced at her direction.

"Don't worry, Chosen One, I'll take care of your sisters."

"_Everything will be alright, sweetheart. Don't worry." Her father said and injected the transmitter on her left shoulder._

_Nadia nodded her head, "I won't." she replied and winced when she felt the short burst of pain from the shot. She then looked at her father and mustered a brave smile for him._

"_You'll be alright." He said again._

"_I know, dad."_

_Jack looked at her. She could see the agony of this decision on his face. He reached out and touched her cheek gently. Nadia blinked back her tears and gave him an embrace._

"_It's just one big test for all of us." She whispered._

The library was huge. There was a sea of books and manuscripts. Even the desk at the center of the room wasn't spared of this description.

Sofya sat stiffly on the couch. Nadia was beside her and she hasn't uttered a word ever since they flew in from Greece. And they had been sitting inside this library for almost an hour already.

She glanced at her sister. Nadia was staring at Deretoskiev's desk, "Are you okay, Nadia?"

"No."

A look at where her sister was looking made her discover something she didn't see when they first entered the chambers—a glowing sphere.

"How did he get it? No one could get it except for me…" Nadia whispered and clutched her sister's arm. Nadia then turned towards her. She had paled immensely and great fear had appeared in her eyes, "That's the Sphere of Life."

"B-b-b-ut, that's not true. It's not real…" Sofya stammered and stared at the bright light that was emanating from the table.

Suffering and chaos suddenly flashed into Nadia's eyes. People running and killing each other amidst an inferno ran through her head. Weeping children amongst screaming men echoed in her mind. This was Rambaldi's way of purging the unworthy ones.

"This is not happening…" tears streamed out of Nadia's eyes and she hastily wiped them away. No, she would not allow the predictions to come true.

THIS is their lives. THEY control it, not some insane man from the fifteenth century!

"I'm scared." Sofya whispered. Nadia looked at her. They're both crying.

She wiped the tears away from her younger sister's face, "Don't be. I'm here." She said in a strong voice, "We control our lives. Not a four hundred year old object!"

Sofya nodded her head and tried to keep her tears from falling. Nadia was right; she shouldn't be afraid of a glowing orb.

The door swung open. Panic bubbled in the pits of the girls' stomachs as they grasped each other's hands for comfort.

"I see that the Sphere of Life finally made its presence known."

Leo Deretoskiev walked into the library. There was excitement in his tone and he seemed to be keeping himself from running towards his desk. He appeared to be captivated by the Sphere.

"Oh… oh my god …" Deretoskiev murmured almost in reverence as he slowly walked towards the glowing artifact, "You are so beautiful. Just… perfect." He said with his arms outstretched.

The girls stared, transfixed at his actions. They had not seen this degree of insanity right before their eyes.

Deretoskiev twisted his head and looked at them. He smiled.

"I know you understand what this means." He said, "Its time for the cleansing of the human race."

"The Sphere of Life contains Rambaldi's essence." Nadia said, "It's not going to purge the world of all its evils."

Deretoskiev shook his head, "My dear, the virus that I released are being controlled by his essence. When the last stage of the prophecy is complete, he will reborn and all the unworthy people will be dead."

Sofya blinked, "You're insane."

He started to laugh, "Sofya, this is what I think is right. There's too much violence and confusion in the world. I want to get rid of it."

"By killing half of the population?" Sofya replied snottily. Her fear, however, was detected by Deretoskiev.

In three strides, he reached their position and pulled Sofya from the chair. It was so swift that they were not able to react to it quickly. She wasn't able to pull her hand because Deretoskiev's grip was so strong it was like a handcuff.

"I don't want to spoil everything for you, but I want you to know that your father will kill your mother. And you can't do anything about it." Deretoskiev said roughly and dragged her towards the desk.

She tried to pull away. Sofya looked at her sister's direction and found her seemingly frozen to where she was seated.

"Nadia!"

In the corner of her eye, she saw a gleam of a sharp object. She turned her head towards it and saw that Deretoskiev was holding a small, jagged knife.

Bile rose up to her throat. She looked at Nadia again. 'What is wrong with her!?'

Deretoskiev tugged her wrist towards the direction of the Sphere of Life. The light was starting to blind her and suddenly, she remembered something which her father told them to do. She began to get a transmitter from her pocket and when she felt one in her fingertip, she clutched Deretoskiev's arm.

"Stop it!" she shouted and began to pull her arm away, "Nadia!" she shouted, but she didn't struggle that much because of the fear that he might stab her.

Deretoskiev took this to his advantage and maintained his grip on her. He then poised the knife on the girl's forearm and sliced her flesh.

She wasn't able to shout in pain. She was shocked at what he did.

Blood began to ooze out of the long cut. It trailed down on her arm and on her hand. Little droplets fell on the Sphere. The brightness started to wane.

Sofya pulled her arm and staggered backwards. She kept her eyes trained on Deretoskiev, who wore a triumphant expression on his face. Her stomach churned and her muscles tensed. She then glanced at her sister. She had fallen unconscious and was on the floor.

"What did you do?" she gasped as the room began to spin. She stumbled on her own feet and fell down.

"I'm fulfilling the prophecy." Deretoskiev's voice echoed.

Her eyes rolled back and then, the darkness engulfed her.


	73. sixty nine

I'm so sorry about the delay. I was too immersed in school and making a new fic. I hope you enjoy, though...

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**CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE**

_Her eyesight was blurry, her body felt like it was made out of lead, and she felt dead. Her world was dark, senseless, horrible. She's seeing things that a fifteenth century seer saw and it was genocide._

_She couldn't move her body, but she could move her head. She slightly tilted it to her side and she saw two men standing by her bed. One of them was doing something to her arm._

"_Make it fast, she's awake."_

_She blinked back the fuzziness and realized that the men were drawing blood from her. She began to pull back her arm but found out that she couldn't. She couldn't command her arm to budge._

"_All done."_

The burning sensation at the pit of her stomach and the splitting pain in her head brought her back to consciousness. As she opened her eyes, she became aware of the chilly air around her.

It took her a few minutes before she was able to move, but it took her longer to remember where she was. It was dark and the room seemed to be rocking a bit.

She pulled herself up and massaged her temple. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness as she willed herself to remember. They were in Deretoskiev's ship… in the Mediterranean Sea… she's in the library… he had the Sphere of Life with him.

"_I know you understand what this means." He said, "Its time for the cleansing of the human race."_

Deretoskiev seemed to have wanted to embrace the Sphere of Life. He was insane but that fact wasn't significant. There was something else she needed to remember, something much more important.

"_Nadia!"_

Her eyes widened, "Oh my god." She whispered and she hurriedly looked around. No one seemed to be with her. Sofya… where was she?

"Iya." She called out, "Iya, where are you?" she struggled to stand up. Her knees were wobbly and her stomach was revolting against her. She felt like vomiting.

No one responded to her.

"Iya!" she called out again, louder this time. Still no answer. Her heart began to race. Did Deretoskiev take her? He did slice her arm with a knife, what if he killed her after that?

'Maybe she went outside…' she thought and looked at her digital watch. The passive transmitters would go online in forty minutes. Kendall and his men might get to them in an hour, if the antidotes worked.

She started to walk slowly towards the door. Her headache was worsening and she felt panicky.

What if Sofya was dead? What if Deretoskiev killed her?

'Stop thinking about that, Nadia! Look for your sister!' her thoughts screamed.

With her heart in her throat and uncertainty guiding her way, she wobbly walked out of the room. However, Nadia couldn't help but feel that something horrible was coming her way.

-x-x-x-

Adrenaline pumped into her veins as she ran across the floor. Blood trickled down the fingers of her left arm. She hadn't had the time to bandage her wound yet, and it hurt like hell. It was stinging and it felt like someone was splashing alcohol over the three-inch long knife cut.

She stifled a sob and continued looking for her sisters, brother or parents. Nobody seemed to be onboard the ship. She woke up in the kitchen (she had no idea how she got there) and everyone seemed to have disappeared, even Deretoskiev.

A crash resounded in the distance, by the upper deck. She sprinted towards it, in hopes that she'd find someone she cared about.

After a few feet, corpses of men surfaced. They were scattered on the deck, bleeding from every opening in their bodies.

'Eewness.' She thought. The color of their skin was jaundice, but their lips were blue. A gooey, pus-like substance was also oozing out from some of their wounds. They appeared like they died a horrible death.

"Syd, it's me." She heard her sister say as she rushed up the stairs._Nadia and Sydney are okay, thank god_, her thoughts rejoiced.

However, it didn't seem that way when she reached the top of the ship. The chairs were scattered around and Sydney was holding a long chain in her hands. She didn't really care where her sister got the chain, but she's really confused on what's happening.

"Syd, what are you doing?" she asked uncertainly as she took a step towards them.

Nadia looked at her, "Iya, she's possessed. Don't go near her." she warned and took a step back.

Sofya threw her a confused look. What did she mean by possessed? "She doesn't seem to notice me." She said and went forward.

Suddenly, the chain flew from Sydney's hands and headed straight towards Nadia. Sofya shouted a warning and tried to evade the weapon. Unfortunately, her presence of mind was a nanosecond too late because a portion of the chain caught her squarely on the right shoulder.

A scream of pain escaped her. Sofya tried to keep herself from crying, but it was unbearable. She looked at her older sisters' direction. Sydney had cornered Nadia.

"Sydney…" Nadia trailed off. It was as if she couldn't hear her at all. She wouldn't be able to use reason because Sydney was acting unreasonable.

A few feet away from them, she could see her younger sister standing up. She was crying, but there was an expression of annoyance in her face. She then looked at Sydney. She didn't seem to see Sofya at all.

Sofya ran towards their direction and tackled Sydney. They began to struggle but Sofya, to Nadia's amazement, was able to knock Sydney out. She then quickly took the chains and tied Sydney's wrists.

"Your arm's bleeding." Nadia pointed out and took out a fist aid kit from her utility belt.

"Let's get out of here first." Sofya said and pulled her away from Sydney's unconscious body.

A few minutes later, they were on the lower deck, sitting behind the overturned tables. They spoke in hushed tones as Nadia cleaned Sofya's wound.

"There were no indications that the men were infected by the virus." Nadia said, "The Sphere of Life couldn't have possibly killed them. We're not dead yet."

"Yes, but when the Sphere was activated, it quickened the life cycle of the virus. It killed everyone who was in the ship. And once we're dead, its power would grow by the magnitude which would kill everybody." Sofya replied as she watched her sister dab the three-inch cut with the antiseptic.

Nadia looked at her, "You remember what you wrote didn't you?" she asked, referring to the time when they were kidnapped. Sofya only nodded her head as her response, "I don't remember what I did, although I do have… nightmares about it."

"What did you see?"

She shook her head and took the roll of bandages, "Well, for starters, I saw them take my blood. I thought it was a dream, but after this… after I saw the Sphere of Life, I now know it wasn't a nightmare." Nadia's voice shook. She suddenly felt dread and fear, "I dreamt of a lot of horrible things. And I'm afraid that it would come true."

Sofya didn't say anything. One would kill the other— that was what Rambaldi prophesied. If Sydney tried to kill Nadia, then Nathan would try to kill her. It was logical… sort of.

"How many more minutes before the transmitters go online?" she asked when Nadia began to cover her wound.

Nadia glanced at her watch, "Twenty-five more minutes."

"Do you think the corpses will have guns on them?"

Her sister looked at her, "I think so." She replied, "Are you suggesting we shoot Syd?" she asked with slight incredulity.

"You'll be shooting Syd, I'll be shooting Nate." Sofya answered, "We're not going to kill them but they will kill us. Do you want to die?"

"Of course not." Nadia responded crossly, "But what if we kill them?"

"We're not going to kill them. We're saner." Sofya replied and took out a piece of candy from her pocket. She offered one to Nadia but she declined.

"Deretoskiev said that Dad will kill Mom and we can't do anything about it."

Nadia looked at her younger sister, "Do you believe him?"

"Do you?" Sofya asked back.

They stared at each other. They both didn't know how to answer the question. Their parents' relationship was complicated and violent. However, even if they seemed to want to kill each other, they still managed to keep the homicidal attempts in check. But if their father was also out of control like Sydney, nothing would impede him from killing their mother.

"Your arm's done." Nadia said after a few seconds.

Sofya nodded her head and stood up. She pulled Nadia up and gave her a small, comforting smile.

"Let's go and find mom."

-x-x-x-

The gun lay on the floor, out of her reach. She was shot in the shoulder, by Jack. It was ebbing away, though, but that was because of the powerful fingers that were wrapped around her throat.

Irina tried to pry his hand away. She couldn't breathe.

"You can't escape your fate."

His expressionless, brown eyes stared into hers, watching her. He was waiting for her to die, something that she wasn't ready to do.

"_You don't give up when you don't want to hurt your enemy, especially when you're in a real situation."_

She tried to gasp for air. How could she give Sydney that advice when she couldn't even follow it? Could she hurt Jack when he's clearly out of his mind?

'Since when did you start thinking about these kinds of things? You truly have been domesticated!'

She closed her eyes and fumblingly reached out to her leg pocket. She placed all her concentration on getting her knife. The moment she felt the hard ridge of the handle, she kept a firm grip on it and swiftly stabbed Jack's arm.

A gruff sound escaped him and the grip on her throat loosened. Irina collapsed to the floor, wheezing. Her limbs were trembling, her head was pounding, and her stomach was churning. A back-breaking cough shook her body and tears flooded her eyes as air rushed through her lungs.

"Damn you, woman."

Irina's oxygen-deprived body tried to run. Her children were in the lower deck, fighting against each other. She must stop Sydney from killing Nadia and Nathan from killing Sofya.

A lightning streaked the sky. The rumbling of a thunder followed. Suddenly, heavy droplets of rain fell and within seconds, she was soaked from head to foot.

She held on to the railings for support. She then looked downwards to check on her children. To her relief, Nadia was still standing and so was Sofya. She almost cried. She's not too late.

A heavy hand gripped her left shoulder. A spasm of indescribable pain flashed through her before she felt herself being thrown onto the floor. It pounded into her head when the back of her skull hit the hard wood.

Heavy footstep thudded to her position. Irina tried to roll away, but like a flash, Jack's foot connected to her side.

She heard a crack and could only gasp. It was the only sound she could make because the excruciating feeling had gotten hold of her entire system. It felt worst than dying.

"_He'll kill you and you'll not be able to do anything about it."_

Tears fell from her eyes and mixed with the rain. She closed her eyes and tried to feel something other than pain.

_She watched in horror as blood flew across the space. Beads of crimson fell on her arm as her daughter's dead body was swallowed by the whirling pit of oblivion._

Her eyes flew open. Irina would not let that nightmare happen. She didn't care if she died, just as long as her children didn't kill each other.

She moved away from Jack and hurriedly stood up. The floor swayed under her feet but she kept her balance.

"I can kill you." Jack said in an impassive tone while looking at her.

"I don't doubt that." She responded to him. Her surrounding was spinning, but she knew that she could still fight—even if her body felt like it was trampled by a herd of panicked elephants.

Jack lunged towards her. Irina used all her remaining strength to deliver a powerful kick to his arms. She then pushed him to the floor and began to strike him.

The booming sound of a gun going off pierced the air.

Irina abruptly stopped. She could feel something warm trickling from her chest and it wasn't the rain.

Her already-beaten body became numb and slumped forward. Her thoughts ran away. It refused to accept the fact that Jack shot her, that Jack wanted to kill her.

A shadow fell on Irina and whisked her away.

-x-x-x-

"Please, snap out of it." Sofya pleaded as she cried. She couldn't go near him— Nathan was a few feet away from her and the gun was directly pointed at her heart. She was already at the edge of the ship. She'd probably fall if she's not careful,

"Syd and Nadia are killing each other. We need to stop them." A glance at her sisters told her that Sydney had already overpowered Nadia.

"We can't." her brother answered in a robotic tone.

She had stabbed her twin in the shoulder, hit him on the upper torso with a chair twice, and punched him in the face until her hands gave up. She did all that and it didn't stop Nathan from trying to kill her. She was tired and she felt cold.

Sofya then heard a gunshot coming from the upper deck. Tears deluged her eyes. Their mother… did their father shoot her?

"Nate, please. Nadia needs our help. Put the gun down."

She heard the click of the safety being released. Sofya squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

The blast was deafening. Pain exploded in her neck and she felt blood gushing on her collarbone and shoulders. She stumbled backwards and when she fell, she heard the roar of the ocean under her.

The strong rain obscured the sound of her body falling on the water.

-x-x-x-

"_We couldn't find Sofya Derevko, sir. Over."_

Kendall took the walkie-talkie from the table, "Trace her passive transmitter. Over." He ordered. He was in Deretoskiev's office, looking for clues to where the man went.

The formula of the antidote that Sofya and Calderon gave them was very viable. They had already given the antidote to every infected person in quarantine, and they were all doing well. Unfortunately, the President did not make it. He died one hour before the cure was deemed successful.

"_Sir-"_

He clenched his jaw, "Find her." he barked, "What is the status of the other agents? Over." he asked after a few seconds.

"_Irina Derevko and Nadia Santos are in critical form. Agent Bristow, his daughter and his son have all stable conditions. Over."_

Kendall became silent. They arrived an hour and fifteen minutes after the passive transmitter went online. Before they set foot in the ship, he knew that something awful had happened and that they were too late to stop it.

A map peeked from under a leather-bounded diary. He pulled it from the notebook and looked at it.

"_Sir, Sofya Derevko's passive transmitter is not responding to the tracking device. Over."_

Kendall gritted his teeth, "Then find her in the conventional way. I don't care if you scour the entire ship. I want you to find her, is that understood? Over."

"_Yes, sir."_


	74. seventy

**CHAPTER SEVENTY**

"…_she has one gunshot wound in her left shoulder and another one a few centimeters below her right collarbone. She also has two broken ribs and a concussion… Her stats are critical. There's a high probability that she will need blood transfusion…"_

Her eyelids were heavy but she tried to open them, anyway. Her sight was blurry and she couldn't make out where she was. Blue, green, and red flashing lights were the only things she could see and aside from the voices, she could also hear an intense whirring of a motor.

"…_his left shoulder has a very deep laceration. His wrist is broken too. But other than the bruises and the abrasions on his face and upper torso, he's fine…"_

She was feeling pain somewhere but it seemed so distant that she thought she might be hallucinating about it. Her mind was hazy—she couldn't really remember what had happened.

'I'm so tired…'

Irina closed her eyes and went to sleep.

-x-x-x-

"Sir-"

"Where is my wife!?"

He glared at the woman in front of him, who appeared to be very uneasy with his presence. After all, he was half-naked and he looked like he could kill anyone in his path. Even though his left shoulder was bandaged, his right arm was in a sling, and his face and upper torso had bruises, he still seemed dangerous to the young nurse.

Another thing that made it uneasy for her was the fact that the man was American, and yet he was speaking Italian as if it was his native language.

"Please, sir. Get back to bed. You need to rest."

Jack gritted his teeth, "I'm not going to rest until I know that my wife and children are alright."

"They're alright, sir." She replied and blocked the doorway.

He had an urge to strangle the woman and run out of the room. It was quite obvious that the nurse was lying about the current condition of Irina and their children, "They are not alright because I can see that you are not a very good liar."

"Sir, you can't-"

"Where is my wife?" he asked in a calmer tone.

"You're wife, sir?" when the intensity of Jack's glare doubled, she cringed, "She's in surgery. The doctors have to remove the bullet in her chest."

His heart almost stopped, "Is she alright? What was her condition when she entered the O.R.?" he couldn't believe it. He really did try to kill her.

"I don't know, sir." The nurse answered meekly, "You have to go back to bed. You have a knife wound in your shoulder, a broken wrist, a fractured arm, and bruising in some major parts of your body. You need to rest."

"What about my children?" Jack asked, "Did any of them go to surgery?" his shoulder was beginning to twinge, but he didn't mind. He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

"No, sir." She answered and tried to usher him towards his bed, "They're fine, all three of them."

Her answer was like a heavy blow to his head. She said three. Did that mean that one of his children was dead? Jack stared at her and didn't move an inch from where he was standing.

"Mr. Bristow, please-"

"I have four children." Jack said to her, "I have four children. Not three."

The nurse knew that she made a mistake. And she knew that he'd go berserk if she stopped answering his questions, especially now that he discovered that one of his children were missing.

"Your daughters are in the west wing and your son is two rooms from here." She said, "Mr. Kendall said to tell you that they are doing everything they can to find your youngest daughter…"

Jack's mouth went dry and his throat constricted. Sofya's missing? What would he tell Irina? How could he tell this to Irina?

"Sir, please, get back to bed. You need to rest."

"_Deretoskiev will want the prophecy fulfilled." She answered, letting her fury show, "I don't know about you, Jack, but I don't want any of my children to die."_

"_I don't want __**my**__ children to die too-"_

"_And yet, somehow, you agreed to what they want you to do." She interrupted._

He blinked back the tears that were forming in his eyes.

'No, she's not dead. She can't be.'

-x-x-x-

She was aware of the intense, unhurried beating of her heart and the heavy, tired feeling that surrounded her entire body. She unconsciously flexed her fingers and her toes, slowly stretching the muscles that seemed to be asleep with her.

When she opened her eyes, a haze of white light greeted her. She blinked away the fuzziness and took in a lungful of air. She felt something by her nose which was making her breathe easily.

There was a throbbing pain in her chest and shoulder, which was giving her discomfort. Deciding that movement might make the pain worse, Irina settled on looking around her surroundings.

She saw Jack seated by her right side, near her bed. His left arm was in a sling and there were strips of bandages covering half of his forehead and a portion of his cheek. He was quietly watching her and his face remained impassive when she looked at him.

They stared at each other. Bits and pieces of what happened in Deretoskiev's ship surfaced in her mind. He shot her, and then choked her. She then responded by stabbing him and beating him, before he shot her again.

"I shot you." Jack said suddenly after a few minutes, "I almost killed you."

She cleared her throat, "I know." She hoarsely responded.

"I… I'm sorry."

Irina gave him a smile, "It's alright. I stabbed you." She looked at the window, "Where are we?"

"Italy."

"How long have we been here?" she asked and looked at him. Relief was visible in his features, but he also seemed a little bit somber.

She then began to move upright but stopped and winced when she pulled back her left arm.

"Five days." Jack stood up and leaned towards her, "You have a broken rib and a gunshot wound on your shoulder and chest. Don't move that much." He helped her up and placed some pillows behind her back. It wasn't an easy task for both of them but they managed.

Irina sighed. This was one of the reasons why she hated being in hospitals. "Deretoskiev escaped. They're looking for him." she heard Jack say, "The antidote we used worked, but the President didn't make it."

"How many died?" she asked

"The agency estimates that about 12,500 people died from around the world." He replied and covered her with the blanket.

"How are the children?"

His face became expressionless again. Irina knew that something terrible had happened, but she didn't dare say a word. Saying something would be an equivalent to confirming the worst.

"Uh," Jack started. He already knew how to tell the news to her—he practised it days ago. But he couldn't bring himself to say it, "Uh, they're fine. Sydney has a broken ankle, a knife wound in her arm, and uh, she needed six stitches in her forehead. Nadia has a minor spinal injury…she's in the next room. Nate has a knife wound too, in the chest area. He's in the other wing. Iya…" he trailed off before taking a deep breath.

"Iya had gone overboard. Kendall and his men are looking for her. They are going to every village that sits in front of the Mediterranean shore, in case some fishermen rescued her."

Irina swallowed the ball of grief that was beginning to form in her throat. It was one of the worst things that could have happened, "What did Nate do to her?" she asked in a soft tone.

He didn't want to answer her question. Nathan was already depressed, miserable. His son didn't want to see anyone and was refusing to eat. He was grieving and he didn't want any help.

"Jack, what did Nate do?"

"Nate shot her. He couldn't remember where he hit Iya."

Irina looked away from him. Her heart started to ache. Not only did her nightmare come true, but everyone tried to kill each other for the sheer reason of fulfilling Rambaldi's prophecies.

"_What happened to your arm, Iya?" she asked when she saw her eight-year old daughter coming in her room. Her right arm was in a sling and her wrist was in wrapped in bandages. She already knew what happened; Maria called her when they reached the hospital._

"_I broke my arm." Her daughter answered. There was a petulant look in her hazel eyes and there was a deep frown carved in her face._

"_How did you break it?" she asked as she took off her earrings and sat on the bed._

_Sofya stopped walking and stood in front of her, "Nate and me jumped from the tree."_

"_And what did mommy say about jumping from the tree?"_

_Her daughter sighed and made a face, "You could get hurt and land in the hospital."_

_Irina stared at her and angled her head. Sofya looked so much like Sydney when her eldest daughter was in this age._

"_Does it hurt?" she asked after a while._

"_Yes, mommy." Sofya lowered her head, "I'm sorry, mommy. We won't do it again."_

_She stood up and kneeled next to her daughter. She then laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and kissed her temple._

She became quiet. She suddenly felt bleaker, colder. Maybe if she saw any of her children… maybe seeing them would alleviate the anguish she was feeling. Irina closed her eyes and tried not to let the tears fall down her cheeks.

The mattress slightly heaved downwards, as if someone placed a heavy object beside her. A small glance towards her right told her that Jack climbed up the bed and had reclined next to her.

Jack rested his right hand on her hand. He then carefully lifted her hand up and brushed his lips on her fingers as if to tell her that everything would turn out for the better.

"Your arm…" she murmured, concerned that he might hurt himself in the process of consoling her.

"Don't worry about me." He gently kissed the side of her head before lightly running his fingers on her long, brown hair.

Irina let out a deep breath and tilted her head to gaze at Jack. Concern and sadness were etched on his face. Lines full of worry made him look tired, but there was still strength in his eyes—the strength that never waned even under the most intense emotional pressure. And then, she saw guilt.

It was his plan. And it failed.

Irina bit her lip and tried to muster a brave smile for him. Ignoring the pain that began to shoot in her ribs, she lifted her hand and wrapped it around his.

"We're going to find Iya. And… she'll be alright."

-x-x-x-

_One week later_

They were allowed to go back the United States three days ago. However, the doctors recommended that Irina and Nadia get ample bed rest. The doctors in the Angel of Mercy, a CIA-run hospital, decided that it would be best if they confine the two of them for another week. Irina was still recuperating from her surgery; Nadia needed therapy for her back.

The three remaining members of the Bristow family were advised to stay at home and rest. Of course, Jack didn't follow the doctor's advice and went to Langley after a day of doing absolutely nothing at home. He wanted to know the progress of the search for Sofya.

Kendall's team combed the waters and went to every village by the Mediterranean shoreline. They spoke to every fisherman or to anyone who went to the sea as a means to live.

The search was fruitless. Sofya didn't seem to have surfaced the Mediterranean.

Jack felt so tired, emotionally and physically. The CIA called off the search. There was a probability that she was dead. After all, it has been twelve days. They did not know the extent of her injuries; if a fisherman rescued her, there would always be the slight chance that she wouldn't survive the damages that were sustained by her body.

He unlocked the door to his apartment. He just got home from Langley and it was late—he wouldn't be able to get to Irina at this hour. The bad news would be delivered tomorrow.

How would he be able to tell her that the CIA had given up? She was so optimistic about recovering their daughter alive and well. How could he tell her that they believe that Sofya was dead? She wouldn't accept that reason.

Jack pushed the door open and went inside. He expected that everything would be quiet, but the television seemed to be turned on.

Cautiously, he approached the living room. He took a peek and found that the lights were on and Nathan was sitting in front of the TV. He was asleep, though.

Jack shook his head as he walked to the coffee table. He reached for the remote control and turned off the TV.

Nathan woke up in a start.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Sydney?" he asked.

His son stared at him, trying to catch his breath. Jack scrutinized his face. Nathan lost some weight and there were dark circles under his eyes. He also seemed to be a little disconcerted.

"Uh…" Nathan rubbed his eyes, "Yeah, I'm supposed to be in Syd's house."

"Then what are you doing here?" Jack asked again and laid the remote control in one of the side tables.

"Syd wanted me to see mama. She said not to come home until I visited her." the young man answered as he hid his yawn. He was moving a little bit stiffly. The bruises in his torso hadn't faded yet while his knife wound didn't seem to be healing that well (it seemed that Irina, Nadia and Sofya had the same idea on how to take them down). It was limiting his mobility.

Jack raised a brow, "I assume that you didn't see your mother?"

His son shook his head and looked away. Silence enveloped the room.

He knew that Nathan was feeling guilty about shooting Sofya. And he knew that Nathan wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he believed she was dead.

"Irina had been looking for you." Jack said quietly, "She wants to see how you're doing."

"I killed my sister." Nathan bitterly and angrily said. His voice was suddenly clear and it sounded so torn, "How can I show my face to my mother after what I've done?"

He didn't say anything and instead sat down on the armchair near the couch.

"It wasn't your fault."

Nathan looked at him. Grief was clearly visible in his hazel eyes, "I was supposed to take care of Iya. And look what I did. I shot her."

"I shot your mother too." Jack pointed out.

"Mama's alive. And you apologized to her and you made her feel better. Iya… Iya isn't here, how can I say that I am sorry!?"

Nathan was miserable and he was pushing everyone away. He didn't want help from anyone because he preferred to wallow alone— just like him.

Minutes later, Nathan looked at his watch, "Uh, it's a little bit late. Do you mind if I crashed in here?" he asked.

"You already did." He answered dryly. Jack then stood up. He was uncertain on how to tell the news.

"So, uh…" Nathan stood up and faced him, "How was Langley?"

Jack intently looked at him. He would know the truth, sooner or later. The question was would he want to hear it from him or from someone else? Jack knew that he would plummet deeper into depression if he told him that the search for Sofya was called off.

"It didn't go as I hoped." He answered after some inner deliberation. His voice didn't give anything away and he wished that it wouldn't break when he tells him that the CIA was going to declare Sofya dead.

He could feel his son's eyes peering through him, "They stopped searching." Nathan said in a flat tone.

"Yes, they did." Jack replied.

Nathan paled greatly. He took a step backwards, his eyebrows knotting. There was a part of him that still believed that Sofya would pull through, that she would suddenly barged in the room injured but would be laughing at him.

Jack's throat constricted as he watched Nathan struggle with the news. He could see him trying to hold back his tears.

"They didn't find any trace of her anywhere? No body? No anything?" the young man asked. He was pressing his fingertips on the bridge of his nose.

He shook his head. They then stood in the middle of the living room, without a word or a sound.

"_Please, snap out of it."_

Tears flooded Nathan's eyes. He kept his head down as he held an anguished breath to keep himself from crying in front of his father. There was very little hope that Sofya would really come back. How could his mother forgive him for what he had done?

He placed a gentle hand on his son's shoulder. Nathan looked up to his face. His father was crying.

"Dad…" he trailed off.

"The CIA gave up. I won't." Jack responded and wrapped his free arm around him.

The world was crushing him and his father was pulling him away from it. For the first time, Nathan didn't have to be the stronger one; his father was here to help him. For the first time, he was the one who needed help. And his father was willing to come to his aid.

His son wept. Jack held him.


	75. seventy one

CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

**CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE**

The television suddenly blared, rousing Nathan from his slumber. Confused (he was sure he turned it off before he slept…), he sat up and hazily looked around.

His body froze and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the person sitting beside him. He stared at her and blinked. Was he dreaming?

"So, you really think I'm dead?"

"Iya…" he said, almost in a whisper. Sofya was still wearing the same clothes she wore when they went to Greece.

He must be showing a lot of emotions on his face because he saw his twin roll her eyes. Nathan almost laughed. She did that almost all the time.

"It's been confirmed that you're innately emo, Nate." She said, throwing her hands up in the air, "Do you really believe I'm dead?" she asked again.

"Uh, maybe." He answered after clearing his throat, "You're in my dream." He pointed out.

"Dreams are part of the subconscious mind." she replied, "I can be your conscience." Sofya reached out for the remote control and changed the channel to the National Geographic.

Nathan didn't say anything. _Great_, he thought, _I'm talking to myself with my twin sister being the medium_.

"Or maybe I'm communicating to you telepathically. I don't really know." She snickered at the idea before she linked their arms together. She then leaned her head on his shoulder and began to watch the TV.

His eyes stung. He glanced at his sister and felt like weeping again.

"I'm so sorry." His voice was raw and anguished, "I'm so sorry I shot you."

Sofya looked up at him and gave him a smile. She shifted from her seat and kissed his cheek, "Stop wallowing, Nate." She said in a saccharine tone, "If you don't think I'm dead then start looking for me."

"Iya, I can't-"

She raised a brow, "You actually want to be known as the sister killer?"

"No!" Nathan exclaimed, "Of course not."

Sofya patted his arm, "Stop wallowing. You look stupid and weird."

"Whatever," he scoffed, "Don't you feel a little flattered?"

"A little bit." She grinned, "Look for me, okay?" she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder once again.

He saw her close her eyes and sighed. He's making himself insane.

"Nate?"

"Yeah?" he replied softly.

"_Visit mom."_

-x-x-x-

"I hate this."

She glanced at Nadia, who lay flat on the bed. She gave her a consoling smile and moved her seat closer.

"I'm really sorry," Sydney said "If I didn't-"

"Syd, please stop apologizing." Nadia interrupted, "We've been through this already."

"But it's true. If I didn't attack you then you wouldn't be in this kind of position." She pointed out. She kicked Nadia's back so hard that it made her sister unconscious. Sydney didn't mind that she had several injuries of her own. The fact that Nadia was confined in the hospital meant that she gave her younger sister serious physical damages.

"I'm sure Nate is feeling the same way about Iya." Her sister softly said.

Sydney looked at her sister and sighed, "They stopped searching for Iya."

Nadia gave a slight nod of her head as a response. Their father dropped by earlier to give her the news and it seemed to sap all of her energy. It felt depressing. She knew that Nathan would be feeling worst and she hoped that he'd drop by. They all needed support.

"Do you really think she's dead?" Nadia asked after a few minutes of silence. She twisted her head so that she could see her sister's face.

"No." Sydney answered, "We escaped death countless of times. There's a possibility that Iya isn't dead."

Nadia nodded her head in agreement. They're probably both in denial, but they didn't care. Having hope that someone's still alive did not mean that they were losing grip of reality. It was a very human trait and even if Sydney and Nadia sometimes felt that they were invincible, they were still human.

There was a knock on the door and it opened after a few seconds.

Irina slowly entered the hospital room. She appeared to be having a hard time walking and she was alone.

"Mom, what are you doing out of bed?" Sydney exclaimed and began to stand up.

"Sydney, just stay in your seat." Irina said, "I'm perfectly capable of walking by myself." She added since her eldest daughter had a broken ankle.

Sydney hobbled towards her, "Does your doctor know?" she asked. "You're not supposed to be out of bed.

Irina sighed when her daughter began to assist her. It wasn't as if she was the only one in the room who was physically well. Aside from the broken ankle, Sydney also had a knife wound on her arm.

"Did Nate visit you already?" Nadia asked when her mother and sister finally sat on a chair.

"Nyet." Irina answered, slightly distracted. She smiled at Nadia, who stretching her neck so that she could see them, "What time is your therapy?"

Her daughter groaned, "In an hour. I can't wait to get out of bed."

Irina leaned back on the chair. Her rib was sore, but she tried not to show it. She didn't want to stay in her room since Jack left her for a while and she didn't want to handle the news of losing Sofya alone. She then decided to go to Nadia's room. When she first stood up, her body began to protest but it waned away when she started to walk.

Sydney watched her mother talk to her sister. They were all coping with a loss and they needed each other's company. She wondered how her father and brother were doing.

"Your father told me that Vaughn and Weiss were released from quarantine." Irina said to them after a few minutes.

Sydney nodded her head, "They'd be stopping by later."

Irina's eyes glistened. The formula of the antidote that Sofya supplied to the DSR helped a lot of people. It saved almost everyone in quarantine.

Nadia pushed herself to sitting position. She couldn't take the torture anymore. She needed to sit!

"Nadia." Sydney exasperatedly breathed out, "The doctor said-"

"The doctor advised." Nadia interjected, "The doctor advised me to lie down. He didn't prohibit me from sitting up."

Sydney rolled her eyes and looked at Irina, who shook her head. Neither woman could actually dissuade Nadia from going against her doctor's orders. After all, Jack, Irina, Sydney and Nathan disobeyed the doctors too.

"Mama, does anyone know you're here?"

The door suddenly swung open and Nathan's head popped in. He seemed a bit panicked.

"She's here!" he said when he saw Irina sitting by Nadia's bed.

Nadia looked at their mother, "I guess that answers my question." She remarked as her brother went towards them. When Nathan sat at the edge of her bed, Irina gave them an amused glance.

Jack strode inside after a few minutes. Sydney could see annoyance and tiredness on his face.

"Irina, the doctor said-"

"The doctor didn't say anything about not walking around." Irina replied and shifted her position so that they would be face to face.

"He said to rest." Jack impatiently answered back.

Sydney angled her head and looked into their interaction. She noticed that there was something different with the way they talk to each other. Their words were sprinkled with resignation and sarcasm; there was great intensity which was bedazzling (this word seemed to be apt when describing her parents). Something was unusual with them, but they still seem to be the same person. It was quite… amazing.

"I'll go back to my room when Nadia leaves for her therapy." Irina bargained, "Is that alright with you?" she asked with derision.

"Fine." Jack let out a deep breath and looked at Nathan, "Can you please assist your mother later? I have a meeting with Chase."

Nathan took a quick glance at his mother before he nodded his head, "No problem."

Jack placed a hand on Irina's back and looked at his children. He gave them all a soft smile before he turned to leave.

-x-x-x-

The afternoon light streamed in the window and gave Hayden Chase a bright aura. The dark curls in her head seemed to glow and she actually appeared saintly.

"I am deeply sorry for your loss."

Jack stoically nodded his head as a response. He had no idea why she asked him to come. It might be because of the month-long leave of absence he filed for the second time this year. Or maybe she read his mind about retiring and was now going to persuade him against it.

But then again, he thought, if he retired too soon, he would not be able to watch over his children. Who would make sure that their missions are safe?

Chase leaned on her chair, "You went to Langley a few days ago, am I right?"

"Yes, I did." He answered in a clipped tone. The CIA stopped searching for Sofya and he couldn't start his own search if they kept on checking on him.

She looked at his face, eyeing him like a hawk eyed its prey, "And they didn't say anything?"

"About what?" Jack asked.

"About your promotion."

Jack raised a brow, "A promotion?" he repeated. Was that their way of giving their condolences? By giving him a promotion?

"I don't have the exact details but I know that they want you to work in Washington—near the President."

He kept quiet, not because he felt astounded but because he didn't want to say no. Well, not yet, anyway. He wanted to wait, and if they really wanted him for the job, they'd come to his doorstep. Then that's the time he'd say no.

"Tim Spade will be coming in later. He's going to talk to you about it." Chase went on. The expression on Jack's face didn't change. It remained blank.

"What if I say no?" he asked after a while.

"I don't think they'd want no for an answer." She replied and let out a deep breath, "I know it seems a little bit like bribe, but consider about accepting the offer."

Jack gave her a stare, "Are we done here?" he stood up before she gave any response. I'll be in the hospital. When Tim arrives, tell him to go there, I'm sure Irina will not mind."

Hayden Chase watched him leave. She knew that Jack would decline the offer. She had some ideas on why he wouldn't accept it and she knew that that nothing would keep him from getting what he wanted.

She couldn't help but smile. Timothy Spade would not be able to convince Jack Bristow no matter what.

-x-x-x-

Toys of all shapes and sizes were scattered around the floor. Big picture books were piled up in one corner and liquids of all kinds stained the carpet.

Carrie Bowman-Flinkman sighed as she cleared away the newspaper that covered the coffee table. Marshall was in the bathroom, bathing Mitchell. She sighed once again. She loved her husband and her son, and she's content at work, but there were times that she wished to get away from chaos, even just once in a while.

The doorbell rang. Carrie looked at her watch and frowned. No one visited the house this late.

"I'll get it." she called out and walked towards the foyer.

After a few seconds, she twisted the knob and opened the door.

A tall, young man stood in her porch. He was wearing a light grey sweater and dark jeans. His hair was unruly and the lamp gave her a glimpse of the dark circles under his hazel eyes. A long scar in his forehead stood out in his face.

"Yes, may I help you?" she asked. The young man was quite handsome too although she could sense that there was slight discomfort in his stance.

"Uh, good evening ma'am. Is Mr. Flinkman home?"

There was also a slight British accent, "May I ask who you are first?"

The young man's brow's furrowed, "I'm Nathan… Vadison. I work with Mr. Flinkman in the office." He showed her a small CD case, "I need his help." He said with slight embarrassment.

Her instincts told her that he could be trusted even though she knew that he wasn't as harmless as he looked.

"Come in, Nathan." she opened the door wider.

"Thank you." He said as he stepped inside and closed the door. He then followed Carrie towards the living room.

Carrie motioned him to sit on the couch, "I'm sorry about the mess. Marshall will be with you in a moment. He's bathing Mitchell." Since Nathan was an (awfully young) officemate of Marshall, she knew that her husband told him stories about their son. It was something that Marshall did without hesitation.

Nathan flashed a small smile, "That's okay." Carrie smiled back at him before she turned around and left.

After a few minutes, Marshall entered the living room. He was barefoot and was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a faded brown shirt with a big, wet spot in the middle of his chest.

"Nate, what are you doing here?" he said, a bit concerned. He then looked behind him and asked in a low tone, "What did you tell Carrie?"

Nathan stood up, "I told her that I work with you." He said and shrugged, "I need a favor."

Marshall pushed his son's toys away using his foot and gave Nathan a smile, "Let's go to my office." He gestured Nathan to follow him and began to walk. He knew that Sofya was missing and he knew from his visits to Sydney and Nadia (and Irina) that Nathan was blaming himself.

When the door shut behind them, he heaved in relief and sank on his chair.

"She doesn't know, does she?" Nathan remarked and leaned on the desk.

"No. She thinks I work for a computer security company." He replied and buried his face in his hands. He hated lying to Carrie. He hated every minute of it because he couldn't share his triumphs and failures with her at work. She wouldn't be able to help him if he needed her, "So, what's your favor?"

"They found Deretoskiev." Nathan stated, "I need to get to him first."

"What!? Why!?" Marshall exclaimed, "And how did you know they found him?"

The young Bristow crossed his arms in front of his chest, "I secretly listened to dad and Timothy Spade's conversation," he answered simply.

"Nate, this man… he tried to kill you and your family. Why in the world do you want to talk to him?"

Nathan began to pace around, "I don't know." He said, "I have questions and what I know is that he's the only person who can answer them." The CIA might not take Deretoskiev to custody because the CIA might kill him to prevent another Rambaldi-related disaster to happen.

"Why only him?"

His guest ran his fingers through his unruly hair, "He devoted almost thirty years of his life to studying Rambaldi and his works. He has the answers."

"Why not Sloane? Or your mother?"

"Marshall, if Sloane or mama knew about the antidote being in Rambaldi's manuscripts, the whole tradeoff wouldn't have happened." Nathan looked at Marshall's face and knew that he was uncertain on what to do,

"I just need his location. I'm not going to kill him or anything. Please." He pleaded.

"What if the CIA catches you? You have an agreement with them and if you pursue Deretoskiev on your own and they catch you, they will put you in jail." Marshall said, "Do you want to go to jail?"

Nathan sighed, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a plan," he said, "You won't get caught and I won't get caught and that's a promise."

Marshall took a deep breath. This was unlike any other request he was asked to do and he couldn't decide on what to do.

Nathan patiently waited for an answer. If Marshall says no, then he'd have to get the information himself, which would be a violation of a provision in his agreement.

After what seemed like an eternity, Marshall shook his head in defeat, "What do you need?"

Nathan felt relief exploding in his chest. _Thank you_.

"Deretoskiev's location and the ETD and ETA of the men sent to detain him."

"That's all?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah, that's all."

Marshall's chair swiveled and faced the flat screen computer monitor. The screen then lit up and an entry box for a password blinked.

"Marshall?" Nathan said and he looked at him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

-x-x-x-

_(Two days later)_

"Are you tired? Is your wound okay?"

Irina closed her eyes in exasperation. She and Jack were riding the elevator in Jack's condominium. She was just released from the hospital, much to the relief of everyone.

"Irina?"

"Please, Jack." She frustratingly said, "Stop asking me questions about my physical state every few minutes. I'm fine."

The elevator halted in the fourth floor. The safety rails were lifted and they both stepped out, with Jack carrying Irina's overnight bag with his left hand.

"I'm concerned about you. What's so wrong about that?"

"I've been through worst. There's nothing to worry about."

They walked through the hallway side by side. The click of their heels echoed in the floor.

"I know you've been through worst, but this is probably the first time that I'll actually be with you everyday and get the chance to take care of you."

Irina's face softened. She glanced at Jack, whose face was still stoic, and smiled.

"Nathan's staying with us for a while. He's been sleeping on the couch for the past few nights." Jack said and unlocked the door to the apartment. He let Irina inside first.

"Where's Nate right now?" she asked and looked at him.

"He's supposed to be here." He answered and set down the duffel bag, "Nate?" he called out.

There was no response.

"Maybe he went out." Irina commented and walked towards the living room. She felt her chest complaining from the walking, so she slowly sat on the sofa. She winced slightly when she leaned back. The pressure on her chest began to wane.

She relaxed her neck and closed her eyes. She could hear Jack walking around and going to the kitchen. At last, she's in a place where there were no nurses.

After minutes of silence, Irina heard the sound of Jack's footsteps going out of the kitchen. She didn't pay attention to it that much and tried to meditate. She hadn't done any meditation for a long time.

_Breathe in, breath out._

"LAX? Yes, do you have any flights to Nepal?" she heard Jack say.

Irina opened her eyes a bit, curious. She saw a piece of paper in Jack's hand and she could see the distinctive handwriting of her son from where she was seated.

"Only to Beijing? Yes, don't worry. Thank you." Jack returned the phone to its cradle and looked at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked as he walked towards her.

Jack handed her the piece of paper, "Your son is on his way to Nepal."

_Dad,_

_I need answers and Deretoskiev has them. Don't worry about me, and for chrissake, don't tell mama._

_Nate._


	76. seventy two

**CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO**

_Relief and excitement filled her when she saw Vaughn again. He looked well, not like the time she last visited him in quarantine. His green eyes sparkled when he saw her and Sydney knew that he was thrilled to see her too._

_His arms were strong when he embraced her. She breathed in his scent as she tried not to cry. He was really alright. He was in an even better shape than she was._

"_I missed you." Vaughn whispered._

_She looked up to his face and gave him a bedimpled smile, "I missed you too."_

That was two days ago. Now, the two of them were huddled by the fire exit near Nadia's room.

"Could you help dad get Nate? I know it's too soon for you to travel but Nate's in Nepal looking for Deretoskiev." Sydney said in a low tone. Her arms were folded across her chest.

"Where's your dad now?"

"Calling his contacts in Nepal. They're tracking down Nate."

Vaughn peered into her eyes. He knew that the CIA was organizing a team that would take Deretoskiev to custody. And he also knew that Nathan was violating a provision in their agreement. If the CIA found Nathan in Nepal… Sydney had every reason to be worried.

"When will Jack leave?" he asked

"In three hours." Sydney sighed and looked at her watch. Her brother was so impulsive. Why did he have to do this? He's making everyone worried, "Dad will call you in fifteen minutes. Are you sure you're alright with this?"

Vaughn gave her a small smile and cupped her chin, "Nate's going to be handful." He said and gave her a light kiss, "Your father will need all the help he can get."

Sydney leaned forward and leaned her head on his shoulder, "Thanks."

"Only for you."

-x-x-x-

There were times when he found himself wondering if everything he was going through was just a dream. A big elaborate dream wherein Nathan and Sofya were alive, Nadia was calling him "dad", Sydney wasn't angry at him and Irina wasn't… gone.

He stared at the clouds outside the window. In the past few months, he'd been beaten, shot, drugged, and stabbed. If this was a dream, he should have woken up. But instead, he went on living in the chaos that was his family.

The plane trembled slightly. Jack ignored it and kept his eyes trained on the clouds. Nathan should have arrived in Nepal by this time. His contacts should call anytime soon.

Tom Grace and Vaughn were two seats away from him. Tom was asleep, while Vaughn was reading a book. The map of the terrain leading to Deretoskiev's hiding place was on top of the table between them.

Jack looked at his watch. He shouldn't feel apprehension. There was still six hours into the flight.

He glanced at the direction of the two men. When he was moving up the CIA bureaucratic ladder, he didn't feel any envy of the younger agents who were coming in to replace the positions he left. He didn't have any qualms about getting older alone. But now that the fates gave back something which he thought was destroyed… now, he felt envious of every young couple he saw. They still had a lot of time for everything.

He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the seat. He wouldn't accept the offer of promotion. He had made up his mind to retire. Irina almost lost her life to stop a plague from spreading. He knew that she would get a reprieve soon.

Nathan was another story, though. His son's decision was reckless and he was jeopardizing his entire future by seeking Deretoskiev. He might also be in danger.

'Stop worrying too much, Jack. Nathan is a Derevko and a Bristow. He's not as reckless as you fear him to be.'

He let out a sigh and tried to relax his shoulders. The action sent short bursts of pain in his shoulder. Jack closed his eyes and muttered a curse under his breath. His anxiety was blocking out the pain. If he stopped worrying, his shoulder would act up.

Suddenly, his cell phone started ringing. Jack swiftly took it from the table in front of him and received the call.

"Yes." He gruffly answered. He unexpectedly felt at ease when he heard the voice on the other line. "You found him? Good, thanks."

Jack ended the call and tossed his phone to the seat next to his. He looked out to the window again as he paid no heed to the painful throbbing of his shoulder.

-x-x-x-

Nepal was a landlocked area and the Himalayas border the country. The country's climate varies in altitude and Deretoskiev was hiding in the Himalayan Mountains, in a temple that used to house some of Rambaldi's artifacts.

The snow was only up to his ankles when he started hiking up the mountain. In less than two hours, though, the snow was up to his knees.

Nathan stopped walking and to catch his breath. The temple was just a few meters away from where he was. He waited for a few minutes before he started to walk once more.

After a few minutes, he reached the gigantic gate that separated the temple from the outside world. He stopped to rest again. He was pushing his body too much and he could feel his chest complaining from the exertion.

All of the sudden, the gate creaked open. He immediately reached for his gun and waited.

A small man in a thick, orange robe stepped outside. The man smiled at him and gave a low bow as a sign of respect.

"We've been expecting your arrival." The man said in perfect English, "Please, come in."

Nathan stared at him, "What do you mean you've been expecting me?"

"It is in the prophecy." He replied as he straightened his back, "It has been said that one day, you will come to here seek answers. We have waited for hundreds of years."

"I came here for Deretoskiev." Nathan refused to budge from where he stood.

"He is here." He said in a serene tone. "Do not worry; we will protect you from him."

"I don't need any protecting."

The man just smiled and motioned him to come inside.

Nathan kept his hand on his gun and slowly followed him. The courtyard was blanketed by snow but the pavement that led toward the temple was clear. The monk took curious glances at him every few seconds, but Nathan tried not to pay too much attention to it.

They reached the entrance to the temple. The man pushed the door and let him enter first.

He hesitantly stepped inside. The air that greeted him was warm and it was filled with reverie. The burning aroma of incense sticks wafted into his nose. The monks who were in the hall suddenly stopped everything that they were doing and bowed to him. It felt so surreal.

Nathan followed the monk towards a large, dark corridor. "Is it in your custom to bow to your guests?" he asked when he noticed that every man he met bowed to him

"You are the Valiant and as I have said earlier, we have waited for your visit for hundreds of years."

He furrowed his brows, "The monks before you waited for me. They just passed the waiting to you." He pointed out, "What if one of my sisters came instead of me? What would you have done?"

"Master Ramabldi wrote no such thing, but if that had happened, then they would be accorded with the same respect." The man said as he led him through a series of tunnel-like surroundings, "Your family is highly regarded in our sect. Your family can bring forth peace to our world."

Nathan hid the incredulity he was feeling and just tried to keep up with the monk's pace. Minutes later, they stopped in front of a door by the end of the tunnel.

"Mr. Deretoskiev is inside. He has been seeking enlightenment ever since he came here."

"Enlightenment?" he asked, turning his head to face the monk.

The man nodded his head, "Yes. He couldn't understand why the prophecy didn't turn out the way he understood it."

"Do you know why it didn't turn out the way as he comprehended?"

A wave of reflection passed by the monk's face. "It was because of you, the Chosen One and your father."

Nathan raised a brow, "I don't understand."

"You will." The man said and then bowed, "Mr. Deretoskiev cannot hurt you. If you feel threatened, you can always leave."

"I'll keep that in mind." Nathan dryly said as the monk pushed the door. He stepped inside and found Deretoskiev boxes of scrolls were scattered haphazardly in the floor, on the table and on the bed. The crackle of the fire echoed and he saw Deretoskiev sitting by the fireplace.

"I've been expecting you." He said when the door closed. He didn't give any response and just waited.

"Milo Rambaldi was a genius, but he was also a very jealous, very proud man." Deretoskiev said in a clear, audible voice, "He was madly in love with a woman - Serena was her name - who was a wife of a highly regarded soldier in the Pope's command. He wanted her so much, but he couldn't take her away from her husband because Serena was too stubborn."

Leo Deretoskiev looked at his direction and continued with his story, "She died when she gave birth to her daughter. Rambaldi thought that Serena would be better off dead and in one of his visions of the future, he saw her happy and very much alive. But she was with her husband – again – and they had four lovely children. That vision plagued him until another one raised his hopes of being with Serena again."

Nathan was on alert for anything, but he still listened. He knew very little about Rambaldi's life but he knew a lot of his works.

"The Chosen One, the Passenger, the Valiant and the Key… they were all the crucial to his resurrection. Three of them would die and only one would live. And it was so convenient that these four children were Serena's children.

Deretoskiev paused and reached out for a goblet that was on top of a small table by his chair. He lifted it up to his lips and took a sip of his drink.

"Rambaldi thought my mother was Serena?" Nathan raised a brow and cautiously walked towards him. His face looked gaunt and fresh wrinkles seemed to appear every few seconds. He could definitely see that the years were not kind to this man.

"Irina is Serena." Deretoskiev said, "Why do you think her name was carved in the Cube?"

"You killed a lot of people and what you wanted turned out to be a… a story about unrequited love and revenge."

"If I knew I didn't have all of the information I needed, then I would have gotten what I wanted." The old man snapped, "The world would be eliminated of the unnecessary evils and Milo Rambaldi would have been born again. I would be the man who brought peace!"

"Where are your associates, Mr. Mckenas Cole and Ms. Olivia Reed?" Nathan calmly asked, "They seemed to have disappeared when people started dying. Did you kill them too?"

Contemptuous laughter escaped Deretoskiev. Despite what others believe, Leo Deretoskiev was still strong and he would not go down without a fight.

"They are hiding. As you've said, a lot of people died. If the authorities don't find me, then the deaths will be pinned on them. I assume you know how dire it will be if they are to be found?"

Nathan didn't say anything. He didn't know if Deretoskiev knew that the CIA was going to apprehend him. It seemed unlikely but with the way he was suggesting things, it felt like he had a plan B for his plan B of his escape.

"How are your sisters?" Deretoskiev asked and looked at him with his black eyes.

Nathan could see the reflection of the flames dancing in the old man's pupils. Rage suddenly rose inside him. How could he ask that question after he tried to kill all of them? Nathan's blood began to boil and he clenched his jaw to stop himself from drawing his gun and shooting the man in the head.

His fury was so evident on his face that Deretoskiev sighed and leaned back on his chair.

"I thought that once the Passenger and the Key's blood awakened the Sphere of Life, it would be enough control you, your father and the Chosen One. From what I understood, your father would kill your mother; the Valiant would kill the Key before he killed his father, and that the Valiant would protect whoever lives between the Chosen One and the Passenger until Rambaldi's rebirth. He would then kill himself and the Nostravinci would create his Utopia."

Nathan gripped the handle of his gun. His blood was throbbing painfully in his head and sweat was trickling down his back. Why did he tell Marshall that he wouldn't kill Deretoskiev?

"However, I didn't realize that the Sphere of Life wouldn't be able to fully control a person's free will." He turned to Nathan, who was standing by the fireplace, "Do you know why I failed? I failed because I didn't have enough research about your family. I depended on the writings of Rambaldi."

Deretoskiev slowly stood up and walked towards him. Nathan stood still on his position. If this lecherous villain touched him, could he shoot? He could always say it was in self-defense, but the CIA team wouldn't really believe him… or the monks.

"I failed because I didn't expect that the three of you would be able to have some control of yourself, thus leading to the downfall of the prophecy that I have wanted to see ever since I read it. I failed because I didn't make you believe."

"You failed because it was all a fairy tale." He spitefully said.

A crazed look flashed in the old man's eyes and suddenly he grabbed Nathan's throat. With strength so surprising, he hurled the young man to the armchair.

Nathan's chest crashed on the back of the chair before he fell headfirst on the cold, cement floor. He drew his gun from the holster and struggled to sit up. He loaded the gun and pointed it at Deretoskiev.

The door suddenly opened and a small pop echoed in the room. Deretoskiev fell on the floor.

"I thought you told Marshall that you won't kill him."

Nathan recognized the voice instantly and looked at his father. He glared, even through his pain, "You followed me."

"Yes and it's a good thing that we did follow you." Jack answered as he, Vaughn and Tom walked towards him, "I also told your mother."

He winced when Vaughn pulled him up. He then glanced at Deretoskiev and felt like kicking the unconscious man. Tom was pulling off the tranquilizer dart in the crazed man's neck.

"We need to get out of here before the CIA team arrives." Jack said. The four of them started to fix the room and its inert occupant before starting to leave.

'A total waste of time…' Nathan thought and felt defeated.

The monk who welcomed them in the gate stood by the doorway. He then held out his hands to his guests. Sitting atop his palms was beautifully bright sphere… the Sphere of Life.

"Do not worry, young master. Your sister is alive."

Nathan, Jack, Vaughn and Tom looked at him as if he was as insane as Deretoskiev. The monk smiled slightly and looked at Nathan intently. He then brought his hands closer to the young man and the sphere glowed even brighter.

"The Sphere of Life is connected to your twin sister. If she is dead, the Sphere of Life will be dead too."

The four men stared at the orb.

"Isn't the Sphere also connected to the Passenger? It will also glow if she's alive." Nathan pointed out. This was just too good to be true.

"Yes, it will also glow, but not this bright." The monk replied, "When Mr. Deretoskiev brought it here, its radiance was weak, like a candle near death. And then, the days passed and its luminosity began to strengthen and grew brighter."

Nathan looked at his father. He didn't want to believe it. And the expression on his father's face told him that he also felt the same way.

"The CIA team would be coming in two hours." Tom said after a few seconds, interrupting the spell. He and Vaughn glanced at Jack for any orders.

Jack nodded his head, "We have to leave." He said and turned to Nathan, "We're going to look for Iya as soon as we get home."

"You do not have to find her. She will be able to find a way to return to you." The monk said.

Nathan looked at him. His face was filled with gratitude. This time, the monk gave him a wide smile that showed his white teeth before bowing lowly.

"Your presence will be forever remembered, young master." The monk said.

"Thank you—for your help." He replied as they started to leave. When he looked back, he saw the Sphere of Life glowing.

-x-x-x-

They had a mermaid inside the house. And his mother said that he had to keep it as a secret because bad luck might befall on them. Eight-year old Nicolai believed her, especially since his father said that he fished the girl out of the sea.

He quietly sat by the mat and watched her. She had thick brown hair and was very pretty. She had a wound in her neck, but his father covered it with bandages. She seemed alright now, but she hadn't woken up yet.

He reached out and gently touched the criss-crossed scar in the mermaid's cheek. Her skin was warm and soft. Nicolai thought about the mermaid's family. Did they miss her? Were they looking for her?

She suddenly sighed, which startled him. He quickly pulled his hand away and held his breath. What would he do?

Her eyelashes fluttered and the young boy was very close to panicking. She opened her eyes and after a few minutes, she began to look around. Nicolai froze.

Hazel eyes peered through him. The boy mustered a smile, "B-b-buongiorno." He said, "How are you feeling?" he asked rapidly in Italian. He didn't know if mermaids could speak in his native language.

"Io sto bene…" she softly answered, "Dove…?" she trailed off and tried to sit up.

"No, no… Ti potresti fare male!" Nicolai said and stopped her from sitting up, "You are in our home... Italia."

She stopped trying to sit up. She stared at him intently and he felt like running away. What if she grew her tail back?

"Come ti chiama?" she asked.

"Nicolai." He answered after a few minutes, "What is your name?"

The mermaid let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. She must be tired again, but what was so tiring about sleeping for days and days?

"Come ti chiama?" Nicolai repeated after a few minutes.

"Sofya."


	77. seventy three

**CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE**

A lot of people were still asleep when the rain fell but it was welcomed by everyone who was awake since it's been weeks since the last rainfall. They didn't have to water the plants or wash their cars today. They might encounter some heavy traffic, but they didn't care. It's all for the sake of a little rain.

The windows were closed but the curtains were open, enabling Jack to see the heavy droplets streak the glass pane. The rain reminded him of so many things, but two things that he would always remember would be when the police knocked on his door and told him that Irina died in a car accident and the second was when he shot her… when he tried to kill her in Deretoskiev's ship.

Their injuries were healing perfectly, but they had to exchange places on the bed because they kept hitting each other's wounds. Two weeks had passed since Nathan's little "adventure" in Nepal and thankfully, that went unnoticed. The CIA captured Deretoskiev without effort and they slipped out of the country without any problem. When they got home, they immediately informed Irina, Sydney and Nadia about the possibility of Sofya being alive. They were a bit apprehensive about the news, but one couldn't deny that their hope grew again.

He watched the rain for a while before he rolled to his side and buried his face in Irina's thick, brown locks. Her hair smelled like strawberries and he breathed it in deeply. Happy memories came to mind whenever he smelled this scent. Bitterness and pain would always come with the memories, but he now learned how to let go of those feelings.

Jack gently kissed Irina's bare shoulder. The blanket barely covered the bullet wound under her collarbone—a bullet that came from his gun. He looked at it and tenderly traced the skin around the wound. It would be forever etched in her delicate skin.

"Are you making yourself feel guilty again?"

He looked to her face and shook his head.

Irina glanced at the digital clock by the nightstand and saw that it was only 6 AM, "You're up early." She remarked as she skimmed her fingers through his smooth hair.

"The rain woke me up."

He didn't like the rain— that she knew. Irina gave him a consoling smile and felt a little bit surprised when he smiled back. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood considering that he hated the weather.

It continued to pour outside. She listened to the rain's consistent beat and waited for him to say something.

Their three children were doing well, but they wanted a little time off so that they could enjoy their recuperation. Sofya… she had been missing for a month and they were still waiting for Jack's contacts to call.

Irina sighed and slightly curled her body against Jack. Her cheek touched his shoulder.

"Did Chase approve your trip to Cardiff?" he asked after a while. Irina together with Sydney, Nadia and Nathan would be visiting Elena and Benjamin. They couldn't really take a six-week leave of absence at home because APO kept calling them. They would be spending half of their LOA in Cardiff and the other half in Sussex.

"Yes, surprisingly, she did." She tentatively closed her eyes, "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"They want me to head something in Langley." Jack answered. They wanted him to lead the interrogation and he couldn't say no to it. The quicker they squeezed the information out of Deretoskiev, the earlier their ordeal would be over, "I'll follow you as soon as I'm finished. When I'm gone, I'll still update you with the information I get on Iya'."

Irina looked up at him and gave him a smile. She shouldn't be feeling disappointed. He was still with the CIA, after all.

"I hope you finish early," she said and leaned on him a little, "No, I want you to finish early."

Jack chuckled and kissed her.

"I will."

-x-x-x-

She unconsciously ran her fingers across the blanket that lay in her lap. The fabric was worn, but it was still soft and it oddly felt like a cocoon. It was calming.

The beckoning of the ocean was not lost on her and she wanted to know where she was exactly. Yes, she was in Italy, but she didn't know precisely where. And besides, she wanted to go back home.

Her room was small, but not that small to make her feel claustrophobic. She was comfortable but it would make her feel better if she was with her mother… with her family.

Sofya tucked her hair behind her ear. The gauze in her neck rubbed against her right arm, which was also covered in gauze. She couldn't help but bit back a sigh. Nicolai's father, Alberto, told her that she had been unconscious for three weeks. Her family might think she was dead.

"Sofya?"

Her head shot up in surprise and glanced at the direction of the door. Alberto was carrying a food tray. Why didn't she hear him come in?

"Come va il collo?" he asked and walked towards her. He was only a few inches taller than Sofya, but he had an air that made him appear larger than everyone he encountered. He had a dark complexion from spending too much time under the sun and his eyes were green. She hadn't seen eyes that were greener than Vaughn's.

She could see the steam coming from the tray. Her stomach rumbled. She didn't realize that she was already hungry.

"Va bene grazie." She replied, "I just can't move my head that much."

Alberto smiled and placed the food in front of her before he sat down by her cot. He felt like he had seen this girl before from somewhere. Ever since he saw her unconscious body floating by the jagged rocks near their home, he knew that he had to help her. He lied to the people who were looking for her too—he knew that the wound in her neck was caused by a bullet and she had multiple injuries that made him believe that she wasn't just someone who accidentally fell overboard a ship.

"Nicolai thinks I'm a mermaid." Sofya said and looked at the plate. It was fish. Again. There were also two pieces of bread and a leftover bowl of last night's vegetable soup.

"I told him that I fished you out of the sea. His mother thought that it would be best if tell him that you were a mermaid." Alberto answered. Despite the wounds in her fingers, Sofya managed to quickly slice the fish into little parts. "There were men looking for you."

Sofya took a bite from the bread and a sip from the soup before responding, "When did they come?"

"The day after I found you." He watched her eat. She always seemed hungry. "They said you fell overboard a luxury cruise."

"Hmm…"Her face was expressionless, "I did fall overboard… it's a long story." She said finally after devouring a small portion of the fish.

"Your wounds suggest a different story." He answered, "Se tu stai scappando via da loro…"

Sofya smiled, "I'm not running away from them." She said and took a deep breath, "Thank you for everything, Alberto, but I think my mother and-" she stopped when the man froze.

Alberto stared at her. Suddenly, he knew why the girl looked so familiar.

"What is your mother's name?" he said in perfect English. A slight southern accent was laced in his words.

Her eyes widened. He knows English?

"Why do you ask?" she replied in the same language, "She's not exactly reachable right now." For one thing, her mother didn't have a phone. Her father was the best person to go to at the moment.

Sofya's brows wrinkled, "I might be stating the obvious but you're not really Italian, are you?"

"No." Alberto answered and looked towards the door. His wife was outside, with Nicolai, "If your mother isn't reachable, who can we call?"

"My dad." She answered slowly. Could she trust this man? What if he's an enemy of her mother?

"And your dad is…?" he asked. Maybe he could still use his old contacts if Sofya's father turned out to be someone he used to know. He could sense the girl's distrust, "Don't worry. I'm not going to hold you for ransom or anything."

Sofya sighed, "Jack Bristow."

She couldn't describe the shock that appeared on his face. _Oh, great. _If he's not an enemy of her mother, maybe he's an enemy of her father.

-x-x-x-

(Three weeks later)

_Sussex, England_

The grass was wet when they went out for a walk. There was a light drizzle a few minutes ago, but now the skies were clear. The scent of dewdrops followed them and it felt so refreshing.

"I'm so glad you visited." Nadia said and gave Weiss a wide smile, "I missed you."

Weiss could feel his confidence shrinking. Her smile always made his knees feel like they were made out of jelly, "I missed you too." he answered and pulled her towards him. He slightly leaned forward and gave her a deep kiss, "I missed you so much."

After a while, they continued walking. Irina had a vast property and most of it was still untouched. Hundreds of old trees surround them. The environment was quiet and very comforting.

"This is an insanely huge… residence." Weiss remarked as he turned to Nadia, "You haven't gotten lost here, have you?"

She laughed, "No. Nate's been showing us where to go." She took his hand and pulled him towards the east, "I'll show you the garden."

They linked their arms together and slowly strolled towards their destination. Quietly, they chatted. They whispered their words and shared jokes that they could only understand. It was as if they were residing in their own little world.

"Here we are."

"Oh, wow…"

It was an understatement. Bright, strong colors vibrantly stood out in the lush greenery. He had been to a lot of places in the world and this was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen.

"They're mostly roses and orchids. Mama tends to them when she's here." Nadia tugged him towards the rose beds, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Very beautiful." He answered and looked at her. It was wonderful being with her and he was so glad Vaughn talked him into going with him.

Weiss stood in the center of the garden and admired everything he saw, including Nadia. He then realized that every beautiful thing around him came from Irina (or God, but that's a different case…).

"Eric, its quarter to four. Maria prepared something for you and Vaughn." Nadia said after a few minutes, "She makes a mean blueberry cheesecake." She added and held out her hand for him.

He reached out and interlaced their fingers.

"Its tea time, right?" Weiss asked as they unhurriedly went back to the house.

"Yes. Its tea time."

"Do you think they'll serve coffee?"

An amused sound escaped Nadia's lips, "Only if you ask for coffee." She replied as she glanced at him. She then tilted her head to the side and observed him for a while.

"I'm really, really happy that you're here." She said when they reached the patio.

"Then I'm really, really happy that I came." Weiss beamed and kissed her.

-x-x-x-

Jack threw his briefcase towards the sofa and locked the door of the hotel room before he hung his coat in the rack.

The CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia was the most boring place on earth. It was boring when he was a new recruit and it was still boring when he became the APO director. Apparently, some things never change.

He bit back a sigh as he sat on the couch. He missed Irina. He also missed seeing Sydney, Nadia, Nathan and Sofya. He wouldn't be able to see any of them soon if he didn't make Deretoskiev talk. They couldn't get anything from the man not even a location of Mckenas Cole and Olivia Reed.

Jack began to wonder what his family was doing in Sussex. They're probably having fun since Vaughn and Weiss were visiting. He could call them, but maybe—

The loud ringing of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts.

This time, he sighed exasperatedly. _What now_, he asked himself, annoyed. He took the phone from his pocket and glanced at the caller ID. It was an unknown number.

_It must be one of his contacts_, he mused. _They must have gotten Sofya's location. Or not._

"Yes." He gruffly greeted. The roughness in his tone hid his anxiety.

"_Jack Bristow?"_

He couldn't recognize the voice on the other line, "Yes?"

"_I have your daughter."_


	78. seventy four

**CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR**

Irina sighed and, with a bored expression on her face, looked out through the French doors. On top of her lap was a hardbound copy of Dante's _Inferno_. She had read five books in the past three days and _Inferno_ was her sixth. She was halfway through it, but she had gotten tired of reading.

After a while, she set the book on the coffee table and stood up to head out of the library. Frasier, Sofya's dog, was lying on the doorway when she stepped on the hallway. Upon seeing her, the golden retriever's ears perked before he sat up. Irina reached out to scratch his head before she went to the kitchen.

She heard a faint tinkle of a bell accompanied by a soft patter of paws and she slowed down so that the dog could catch up wither her. She loved cats more than dogs, but she grew a certain fondness for Sofya's pet. Frasier was very friendly and gentle.

When she went inside the kitchen, Irina found Weiss and Vaughn sitting by the table surrounded by vegetables and kitchen utensils. She halted to observe them. They were so wrapped up with what they were doing that they didn't notice her come in.

"Mama."

Nathan wore a dark green apron and held a wooden ladle. There was something steaming on the stove. Vaughn and Weiss suddenly stopped and looked at her. Irina smiled at them and walked towards the refrigerator. She opened the door and took a pitcher of water.

"You're cooking dinner?" she asked and swept a glance at everyone.

"Yeah, Syd and Nadia went out with Martin and Maria. They picked up something in town." Weiss replied, "This is a surprise… sort of."

Her son frowned slightly, "It's a surprise for you too." He said and looked at Frasier, who had retreated by the French doors, "Frasier was supposed to warn us if you leave the library."

Irina took a glass from the cupboard and laughed, "And what would you have done? Would you have brought the stove and your ingredients outside?"

Weiss snickered but covered it with a cough when Nathan glared at him.

"What are you going to cook, anyway?" she asked and sat on a chair. There were little plates of finely-chopped carrots, onions, garlic and string beans, and a bowl of soy sauce and chicken on the table.

"Marinated chicken, buttered vegetables, mashed potato—"

"May I help?" Irina interjected.

"Mama," He sighed, "We are perfectly capable of doing this. There are three of us here. We want you to relax."

She angled her head and stared at him. Her son looked better but there was still sadness lingering in his eyes. He was missing his twin sister.

Suddenly, something rang. At first, Irina thought it to be the oven timer, but realized that it was a cell phone when she recognized the tune to be that of "Mission: Impossible".

Nathan took his phone from his apron pocket and received the call, "Yes?"

Irina turned to look at Vaughn and Weiss. Vaughn tried not to look at her and concentrated on slicing the rest of the chicken. She angled her head and watched him. She knew that Vaughn didn't know the true identity of his father's killer and why he was killed. Telling him the truth won't change anything.

"Yeah, she's here. You want to talk to her?" she heard Nathan say. Her son handed to her his phone, "Its Dad. You haven't been answering your phone."

She slightly raised a brow and took the cell phone, "Hello." She greeted to the person on the other line. She tried to hide her smile when she heard Jack's voice. The amused expression on her face was then replaced by delight.

Vaughn sensed the change. It actually made him stop chopping and look at her. The way she spoke was the same, but her tone was lighter. He hadn't forgiven her fully and he had no intention on doing so in the near future. However, he had accepted the fact that Irina Derevko was the mother of the woman he loved with all his heart and soul.

After a few minutes, Irina abruptly stood up and left the kitchen. She was still talking to Jack.

Nathan wrinkled his forehead. His mother's sudden departure worried him. His father was quite cryptic when he asked about the progress on Sofya's whereabouts. Several ideas had popped into his head concerning his Jack's answers and most of them were the things that he dreaded. _I'm sorry; they found Iya's body_ was his innermost fear.

'Oh, my god, what if…?'

"The soup is overflowing." Weiss pointed out.

He snapped back to reality and quickly turned his attention back to what he was stirring a while ago. It's been two months and he couldn't help but feel worried. The monk said that Sofya would find a way to come home. What's taking her so long, then?

"Nate?" Vaughn said when he turned around to get the bowl of chicken.

"Yeah?" he answered and looked at him. Vaughn was looking at him strangely, "What?" he asked after they stared at each other for a few seconds.

Vaughn shook his head, "Nothing." he shrugged, although he clearly wanted to say something.

Just then, Irina stepped inside the kitchen again. She slowly walked towards Nathan and returned his cell phone. Her face was expressionless.

"What did Dad say?" He asked with slight uncertainty.

Irina took a deep breath and brightly smiled at her son, "Your father's wrapping up his assignment in Langley."

Nathan wrinkled his forehead, "That's all?" there was something more to it—why would his mother walk out of the kitchen if that was all they were talking about?

"Yes, that's all." She answered, "He'll be arriving in three days." She added and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Did he say anything about Iya?" he asked. He didn't budge from his position.

Her eyes twinkled, "Now, that's something we should wait for, right?" she answered. There was a teasing tone in her voice.

"He knows where Iya is?" Nathan exclaimed as the expression on his face changed from somberness to excitement.

Irina waited for a few moments before she responded to him, "Yes, your father knows where Iya is." She then pursed her lips before adding, "It's supposed to be a surprise."

"She's okay, right? I mean she's not…" he just trailed off when the smile on his mother's face didn't fade. He didn't want to jump around but, his knees were wobbling. If he didn't start jumping, he'd probably fall down to the floor.

Irina started to leave, "I should probably leave you three alone." She said, taking note that everyone had stopped doing everything that they were doing when she told them that Jack was arriving in three days.

She smiled as she walked out, already anticipating the return of her husband and her youngest daughter. Three more days. What a long wait that was.

Irina was already in the corridor when she heard Nathan running after her.

"Mama, wait."

She wasn't even facing him yet when she felt her son's strong arms embrace her. There was a faint smell of butter and soy sauce in his clothes and he was still holding the ladle. Irina laughed softly as she hugged Nathan back.

"Mama, I can't wait to see Iya again." He said.

"I can't wait too, Nate."

-x-x-x-

Jack quietly sat outside the café and sipped his coffee. There were only a few people passing by and some were looking at him, but he paid no attention to them. He had a calm exterior, but deep inside him was a fear that he came here for nothing. What if the man who called him, Alberto Panini, didn't have Sofya and was just out for revenge?

'That's the reason why you have back-up waiting, Jack.'

"Jack Bristow?"

He slowly turned around and felt shock with is relief. A tall, lanky man with bright green eyes stood a few feet away from his table. Jack instantly recognized him, even after all the years that passed them. Irina was right; it was him.

After a few seconds, Jack stood up and approached the man.

"I see you still remember me." His host said pleasantly, "I don't know if that's good or not." He smiled at him and held out his hand.

"Abel."" Jack greeted and reached out to shake the man's hand, "Irina was supposed to kill you." He lowered his tone as he observed the man's face. He could see that there was a twinkle in Abel's eyes that just by looking at him Jack knew that he was content with his life.

Abel Heyman was a CIA agent that mysteriously disappeared in 1975. Nothing was heard from him and was considered AWOL for a few years before the Agency changed his status to dead. Irina mentioned his name when he talked to her two days ago. His first call to her (to Nathan's phone), wasn't scrambled and she wasn't able to explain her 'theory' to him until he came home to LA. It turns out that the KGB ordered Irina to kill Abel Heyman and for some unknown reason she couldn't bring herself to kill the agent.

"Well, she didn't." Abel grinned, "And thank God for that."

Jack responded with a wry smile, "Thank God indeed." He said and stared at him.

A wave of uncomfortable silence passed. What is there to say, anyway?

"So do you want to take your daughter home or not?" Abel said in a light tone, "I know she wants to go home as soon as possible. She's getting tired of eating fish."

This time Jack openly smiled. His youngest daughter might have the biggest appetite in the world and could probably eat anything served in front of her, but he knew that she hated eating fish, "I'll pay for my coffee first." He said and went inside the café.

Minutes later, he was in the passenger's seat of Abel's beat-up orange Volkswagen (which smelled vaguely of salt and of fish) and enduring a bumpy ride. He could barely hide his grimace when his head hit the roof of the car.

"We live in the part of the village that is most inaccessible." Abel said and glanced at him apologetically, "Safety precautions." He added.

"Understandable." Jack gritted his teeth when they hit another bump. Seconds later, he could hear the roar of the sea.

"Your daughter speaks perfect Italian." Abel said, "I didn't realize she spoke English until she began speaking it."

Jack smiled a bit, "Irina's doing." He said and looked out the window. There were lots of palm trees.

"And the British accent?"

"Iya and her brother lived in Sussex since they were six… it's complicated."

Abel just nodded his head and focused his concentration on the road. After a few more bumps, the car slowly stopped in front of what Jack thinks as a shed.

"We're here." Abel said and turned off the engine. As they stepped out of the car, Jack looked around. The vast body of water greeted him with a wave. The beach sparkled and winked at him. The sky was cloudless and the intensity of the sun seemed to compliment the idea that this was paradise.

"You picked a nice spot to live in, Abel." He remarked as he followed the man towards the side of the shed.

"It's a bit scary to be here when it's stormy. The waves seem like they'll reach ten feet." Abel remarked and looked at him, "But, yeah, it's a very nice spot to raise kids."

"How many children do you have?" Jack inquired.

"One, his name is Nicolai. But Anna wants two more, so… why not?"

He could hear a boy gleefully shouting in the distance. He surmised that the boy was Abel's son. As they slowly trudged through the sand, Jack saw the boy playing soccer with a willowy teenager. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Jack suddenly felt his fear dissipating and being replaced by joy. After weeks of waiting… they finally found her.

It was Nicolai who saw them first.

"Papa! Iya is teaching me how to catch the ball with my foot!" The boy shouted in Italian as he ran towards them. Able caught him just before he collided into his father's legs. The boy had long brown hair and very pink cheeks. His skin was darker than his father's but they both have the same eyes, "She's very good, papa. Like Ronaldo!"

Abel grinned as he lifted the boy, "I want you to meet Iya's papa." He said and turned to Jack, "Jack, this is Nicolai."

His son's eyes widened when he looked at Jack. Of course, Nicolai still believed that Sofya was a mermaid— a mermaid who was very good in soccer, but a mermaid nonetheless.

"Buongiorno." Nicolai greeted as he gaped at him.

Jack smiled at the boy, "Hello."

Nicolai turned to Abel and asked him rapidly how in the world could Sofya's father could have legs and be walking in dry land. Jack stared at them in both amusement and confusion. Mermaid? Abel's son thought Sofya was a mermaid?

"Dad? Daddy?!"

His daughter's voice rang out and when Jack turned around he saw his daughter running towards them.

A fierce embrace was what he received when she crashed into him.

"I thought you believed I died." her voice was muffled as his daughter buried her face on his chest, "I thought you wouldn't come."

"Why will we do that, sweetie?" Jack asked and kissed the top of her head. Absolute relief. Seeing his daughter and embracing her… this was absolute relief from all the apprehension.

After a few minutes, Sofya pulled away from him and looked up to his face. She scrutinized his expression first before breaking out in a big smile.

"What?"

She began to grin, "Nothing." she said, "I just remembered that I used to call you Paddy and I think I'll sound silly if I call you that again."

An amused sound escaped Jack, "You won't sound silly. Well, not to me, of course."

"Nate will find it silly." She replied and made a face.

He silently observed his face. She was thin, but not deathly thin. Her skin was darker but her eyes were bright suggesting that she recovered well. There was a strip of gauze on the right side of her neck but it didn't seem worrying.

"I think it's better if you talk inside the house." Abel said as he carried his son, "Anna prepared lunch."

Sofya smiled at Abel and tugged Jack so that they could follow him, "How's mom? And Syd? And Nadia? And Nate?" she asked before adding, "Oh, how about Vaughn and Weiss?"

"They're all fine. They're actually all excited for you to come back home." Jack replied and wrapped an arm around his daughter's shoulder, "Your mother misses you."

"I miss her too." She said in a sigh and leaned on her father. She'd be jumping and tumbling around if it weren't for the wound in her neck. It's starting to hurt again.

"You feel okay?" Her father asked after a while.

"Hmm, yeah." She stopped to wiggle her right foot. There was sand inside her flip-flops, "What about you?"

"I feel fine." Jack answered. They were a few feet away from Abel's home. Just as they were entering the house, Sofya suddenly stopped and looked at him.

"Dad?" she said in a serious tone.

"What is it, sweetheart?" he responded worryingly when he saw the expression on her face turning into a frown.

"I hate fish."

Jack gave out a small laugh and shook his head, "That's okay. We'd be leaving tomorrow, don't worry."

"Promise?"

"That's a promise."

-x-x-x-

Irina anxiously sat in the library, waiting for Jack's call. He was still wary about the meeting when she talked to him before he left for Italy. What if he had the right to worry about it?

She looked at her watch and sighed. Only three minutes had passed since she last looked at it. Why was it that time seemed to slow down when you're worried?

'Stop tormenting yourself, it won't get you anywhere…'

'I want him to call. What's so wrong about him calling right now?'

She closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa. She took in a couple of deep breaths and tried to think of things other than her cell phone.

"You know, Nate's in the pool, trying to swim his frustration away."

Irina opened her eyes and saw her daughters coming in the library. Sydney was holding a tray.

"How many laps have he done?" Irina asked and took her book from the coffee table.

"Last count was 23." Nadia answered and sat beside her mother, "I think he's going to drown himself if Dad doesn't call in the next thirty minutes."

"Or he'll probably sedate himself so that he'll stop worrying." Sydney quipped and sat next to her sister.

Irina sighed once again, "It's frustrating."

"That's why we're here." Sydney replied and took the teapot from the tray. She began to pour tea in three cups and handed them to Irina and Nadia.

"Yeah, because we're tired of worrying too." Nadia added as she took the cup her sister gave her.

Just as then, Irina's phone started to ring. She looked at her daughters first before reaching out and taking the call.

"Yes?"

Both Nadia and Sydney held their breaths. They also looked at the expression on their mother's face for any sign of good/bad news.

Tears began to sting Irina's eyes. It fell down on her cheeks first before she started to laugh.

"Oh, my god." She said, "Let me talk to her."

Both Nadia and Sydney jumped in their seats. Nadia stood up and rushed out of the library to tell her brother the news.

"Iya, sweetheart…" Irina said, "Oh, you made us so worried…"


	79. seventy five

**CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE**

"_What… what the hell did you do?!"_

She could hear their daughter's voice from where they were sitting. Irina looked at Jack, whose head was resting on the pillow on top her lap and sighed. He shrugged in response and continued to read the news magazine.

"_Nothing, I didn't do anything-"_

"_Is that super glue?! NATHAN!"_

Heavy footsteps thundered above them. Irina shook her head and started to run her fingers through Jack's smooth hair. Then, for a few minutes, she angled her head and quietly watched him as he read.

It's been three days since Jack and Sofya arrived home. Vaughn and Weiss were still with them and so far, everything has been idyllic. Well, except for the part where they caught two intruders (who later turned out to be CIA agents) snooping around in the middle of the night.

"You know, I thought it will take them a week before they started fighting. It seems that I was wrong." Jack said and folded the newspaper.

She softly smiled and leaned forward to give him a light kiss on the lips.

"Just be thankful that they haven't started pushing each other in the pool." Irina answered, referring to the time when Jack accused her of creating monsters after he had witnessed Nathan tackling Sofya and then falling to the swimming pool.

Sadness rapidly got hold of her system. Nikolai and Svetlana visited them that week. Irina quickly pushed the memory to the back of her mind fearing that sorrow would ruin this moment.

Jack silently gazed at her before he reached out and caressed her cheek. He felt her stiffen for a few seconds and he immediately knew she remembered her parents.

"It's hard." He said softly, "But you have us, so don't… don't feel lonely."

Time seemed to have stilled and a cocoon of silence suddenly enveloped the as they stared at each other. After a few minutes, Irina smiled again as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

"I might not look like it right now, but I'm very happy that you're here—that everyone's here." She trailed her fingers on the side of his face, "I'm actually starting to love having a little normalcy in life."

"Just a little?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, just a little." She replied and tilted her head to the side, "Normal will drive me insane."

His response was a hearty chuckle, something that she rarely heard after fifteen years. It felt wonderful to hear him laugh again.

They both heard a thud above their heads followed by a string of colorful vulgarities.

"Your daughter curses like a sailor." Jack remarked as he slowly sat up.

It was as if Sofya's two-and-a-half months of disappearance was just a myth. Everything was back to the way they usually were around the house.

Irina shook her head, "Washing her mouth with soap wasn't really effective." She replied as she stretched her long legs, "But if you threaten that you'll wash her mouth with soap again will makes her stop… for a week or so."

The clock on top of the mantle suddenly chimed, signaling that it was already three in the afternoon. He shifted his position on the couch and leaned back. Peace and quiet, he mused and glanced at Irina, who was now browsing the magazine. He could get used to this.

After a while, Irina placed the magazine on the coffee table and stood up.

"I can hear Nate and Iya arguing over the blueberry cake in the kitchen." She said and smiled. Arguing was something of a past time for her twin children, "I better check on them… before they start hurling knives at each other." She added in good humor.

"I'll go with you."

Irina extended her hand which Jack gladly took and they started to make their way to the doorway.

Frasier was taking a nap by the banister of the stairs and when he saw them, immediately went down the steps and walked with them to the kitchen.

"_Don't make him slice the cake. You'll think that he's slicing it equally but in reality, his slice will be bigger than everyone else's."_

When they went in the kitchen, they found Sofya, Nathan, Weiss and Vaughn debating on how to slice the cake. Maria was operating the coffee maker; Martin was washing the dishes, while Sydney and Nadia were preparing the dessert plates and forks.

"Wow, mama. Great timing." Nadia remarked when she saw them, "We were about to call you and dad in the living room."

"Well, Nate and Iya saved you the effort." Jack dryly responded as he helped Nadia with the plates.

Irina smiled at the four individuals arguing over the knife, "Do you need any help with the cake?" she asked sweetly and approached them. The blueberry cheesecake sat atop the plate, waiting, and if it had been alive, would have jumped out of the table to escape being divided into ten.

Nathan shook his head and took the knife on the table, "Uh, we're just deciding how to cut in the best possible way." He said and handed the blade to Weiss, "Eric's gonna cut it." he saw that look in his mother's eyes. He's causing too much ruckus.

Jack heard Irina chuckling before she helped with setting the table.

Half an hour later, everyone was seated, having their own slice of the cake, their cup of coffee and/or glass of apple juice.

Jack subtly looked at the people dining on the table. How very… domestic. He was actually waiting for something bad to happen—it just seemed to follow every time something normal and happy settled in their environment.

He heard the girls giggling with what Irina said—men and blueberry cheesecake. He gave them a puzzled glance which made Sydney, Nadia, Maria and Sofya laugh even harder.

"What?" Jack asked and looked at Irina.

She shook her head and touched his arm, "Nothing… just a little joke." She said with a dazzling smile. The girls agreed and tried to hide their smiles.

He lifted a brow, but before he could say anything, a loud buzzing interrupted him. His phone, which was on silent mode, had made its presence known. He took a deep breath as took the phone from his pocket and glanced at the caller ID.

_Devlin_

Jack bit back a sigh and began to stand up, "I have to take this." He said to Irina and went out of the kitchen.

"So, mom." Sydney started and turned to her, "What will you do when we get back to LA?" she asked and angled her head.

Irina set down her fork on the plate, "I don't know, sweetheart. Of course, there are some things stipulated with my agreement with the CIA, so…" she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "But maybe I'll try fixing your father's apartment so that Michael and Eric can visit." She said and looked at Vaughn and Weiss.

"Oh, that would be fun." Nadia remarked, her face lighting up, "We'll help you with the shopping."

"Or you could just ask Dad to get a house." Sydney said and playfully jabbed Vaughn in the rib, "I remembered that you wanted to invite Vaughn and Weiss for dinner and you said that Dad might say no because we won't fit inside his apartment."

Nathan chuckled and looked at his twin, who's trying to wheedle a small portion of the blueberry cake from Weiss. He shook his head in amusement and gave half of his cake to his (three hours) younger sister. He was rewarded by a giddy hug.

"That's up to your father to decide." Irina answered and looked at Martin and Maria. They were smiling at her seemingly pleased to see that the Derevko-Bristow family relations had been mended.

"Mom?" Sofya asked after sipping her apple juice. "May I ask a question?"

"Go ahead, sweetie." She answered.

"Can I go back to school?"

Everyone in the table suddenly quieted down and stared at her.

"You want to what?" Maria asked, agape.

"Go back to school?" Nathan asked, visibly shocked. He knew his twin very well and he could remember the time when Martin had to drag a screaming Sofya to school. She liked it better when they were home schooled—she didn't have to mingle with the students.

Sofya's brows furrowed, "Yes, I want to go back to school." She answered. Why did it seem surprising that she wanted to study?

"But I thought you hated school." Weiss piped, "You don't do any assignments. And you don't have notes." He pointed out.

"I do my assignments - not just as often as my teachers like - and my notes… well, they're all in my head." The girl replied.

Weiss, Vaughn and Nathan all snorted. Sydney and Nadia looked at each other before looking at Irina.

"I guess your father can arrange that." Irina said after a while, "Where do you want to go? Harvard? Princeton? Yale?" she asked, smilingly.

"UCLA's fine." Sofya replied and smiled back at her mother, "It's the nearest. Like you said earlier, we still have agreements with the CIA."

When Jack arrived a few minutes later, the entire kitchen was alive with laughter. Vaughn was telling a story about how Weiss lost a space in bed because of Donovan the dog.

He discreetly went towards Irina and asked if he could speak to her in private. Irina immediately discerned that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly when they were a few feet away from the kitchen. His shoulders were tense and he seemed to be in daze. She looked at him and waited.

"Arvin…"

Irina's eyes sharpened at the mention of the name, but her face softened when she realized that Jack said his 'friend's name with silent resignation.

"What's wrong with Arvin?" she asked after a minutes of silence. He let out a deep breath and touched his forehead, "Jack, what is it?"

"Arvin's dead."

-x-x-x-

_A few days later_

People in black gathered around a spot under an ancient oak tree. Most of them held a white rose in their hand, somberly looking at the priest who was saying a prayer over a polished mahogany casket. They were giving respect to a man who lived a life of moral ambiguity.

"…_Lord, bless Arvin as he enters Your everlasting kingdom. Guide his soul to the right path…"_

Jack stared at the flower that he was holding. Arvin Sloane, the man he once considered his best friend, died of natural causes four days ago. He almost scoffed at the irony. He couldn't really imagine it— how could a man who used to seek immortality from a fifteenth century seer die in his sleep? Why didn't he think up of a grandiose way of leaving for the afterlife?

"…_forgive him, oh Lord, for all the things that he might have done wrong. Show him your love and your mercy…"_

He looked up and slightly looked around. Fellow CIA officers who were closely acquainted with Arvin during his years with the Agency stood across him and most of the agents from APO were here. The friends whom he made with Emily (and after Emily died) were also present. Some of his associates from Omnifam came too. Heck, even the neighbors were in the attendance.

Looking at the crowd made Jack realise that a man who could be seen as the devil's incarnate by some people could also be seen as Mother Teresa's male counterpart.

"…_we ask these through Christ, our Lord, Amen."_

Jack lowered his head and said a silent prayer under his breath. He couldn't really tell if praying helped the dead, but if it did, then he hoped they would help Arvin.

He placed the white rose on top of the casket.

"Goodbye my friend." he murmured, "I hope you're with Emily… and happy, wherever you are." He didn't know why Arvin Sloane's death affected him this way. He felt loss and sadness and he couldn't understand why when their friendship ended when Sydney was recruited to SD-6.

He took a step back and looked at the coffin for one last time. A sigh escaped his lips before he turned to Irina. She had an arm around Nadia.

"Dad." Sydney stood beside him, the flower, still in her hand. She stonily stared at the casket, "I… I can't forgive him, Dad."

"Sloane's dead, Sydney." He replied, "Forgiving Arvin Sloane for what he did will not be for him anymore, but for you."

A puzzled expression appeared on his eldest daughter's face, "I don't understand."

"Sometimes, you have to let go." He said, "Be it memories of happiness, of love or of hate. Sometimes you don't have a choice but to let it go."

"Dad, he had Danny killed." Sydney blinked back the tears, "Danny died because of him."

"And if he hadn't, then you wouldn't have met Vaughn." Jack countered, "You wouldn't be where you are right now if _that_ didn't happen."

"Dad…"

"You don't have to forgive him now." He solaced as he brought Sydney to a tight embrace. This was the first time the topic of Danny had been brought up again, "Maybe in a few years, but not now."

They stood there for a while. There were a few people already leaving.

His daughter looked up to him, her cheeks streaked with tears, "Did he really die in his sleep?" she asked.

"Yes."

Sydney slightly pulled away from him, "How… how ironic."

A small laugh was her father's response. Sydney gave him a smile and placed the rose on top of the casket. When Jack gave her a quizzical look, she responded, "I don't forgive him, but the dead still needs to be respected."

Jack nodded, "You okay now?"

"Of course." His daughter answered as she took her handkerchief to wipe her face, "Are you?"

"I'm fine." he replied. He then looked around and found Irina and Nadia walking away. The twins were also away from them, talking to Marshall and Dixon. He looked back to Sydney and asked, "Let's go?"

Sydney linked her arm with her father's, "Let's go home, dad." She said and leaned her head on Jack's shoulder.

They started to walk and neither of them looked back. Jack smiled to himself as he looked at his daughter.

They have finally left the past behind.

-x-x-x-

-x-x-x-

75/75

(insert smiley face here)

Epilogue to follow


	80. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

_(one year later)_

He gradually reduced the speed of his Lincoln as he pulled in to their neighborhood. Even though it was a weekend, there were only a few people outside. This was one of the reasons why they moved in this community—they didn't really have a lot of neighbors. Their house also overlooked the beach, something of a plus.

Their two-storey house was by the end of the street. It wasn't as big as Irina's house in England (since it was a mansion) but it was a big enough house that it didn't seem crowded when the whole family got together every Sunday.

Jack knew that he wanted to move in a house the moment they arrived in Los Angeles. There were hints about inviting Vaughn and Weiss to dinner, the apartment was too small for four people, Sofya wanted to go back to school … it was logical to find a big house for his big family.

_Family._

A smile spread across his face. It took them fifteen long years, but they've finally found each other. They're a family again.

Minutes later, he pulled up the driveway. He just came back from Washington, after a three-day meeting with the Secretary of Defense. He actually felt relieved when the plane landed in LA. He missed his wife.

The absence of the black SUV and the presence of a silver Porsche told him that Irina wasn't home but Nathan was. He then turned off the engine and went out of his car as he looked at the horizon. The afternoon sun was still up. It was still early.

He went to the front door and tried the knob. It was unlocked. He could hear the noise from the television when he went inside and he surmised that Nathan was watching something.

"Mama?"

Jack raised a brow when he heard the voice. It was Nadia, "Uh, not her." he answered and went to the living room. She was sitting on the floor beside Sofya, who was firmly concentrated on her laptop. Books and pieces of paper were strewn around them. Behind her were the French doors that overlooked the beach. There was a beautiful sight outside, but the two women seated on the floor were oblivious to it.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he took off his coat and set his briefcase and duffel bag by the side of the couch.

"Helping Iya with her fifteen-page paper." Nadia answered, "Its due at 6." She added.

Jack looked at his watch and walked towards them, "Its 4.30." he remarked, "How many more pages to go?"

"Three." Sofya muttered, "Conclusions are a pain in the ass."

He couldn't help but raise a brow. His daughter was cramming a paper, again? He looked at Nadia, who shook her head as if to say 'not now'.

"What's the paper about?" he asked and sat down on the sofa. He took the remote control and lowered the volume of the television.

"An analysis of the impact of the Cold War on our generation." Nadia answered for her sister, "Mama was helping her before she went out with Nate to buy some groceries."

"Speaking of mom, do you know that she's angry at you?" Sofya asked, not taking her eyes off her laptop, "She's seething."

A surprised expression appeared on Jack's face "What? Why?"

"Dad, Mama thinks you're trying to kill her through boredom." Nadia sighed and stood up to sit beside him, "Aside from that, the one thing that really made her angry was the fact that you forgot to tell her that you weren't coming home because you'll be in Washington for three days."

"I thought she knew about that." He answered, "I think I told her about it."

"This is going to be a contest on whether you told her or she forgot. I don't think Mama will agree that she forgot about your trip because… well, I know that she won't accept that, so…" his daughter trailed off and gave him a shrug.

Jack sighed as he knew that Irina was both stubborn and proud. If he didn't say anything about it, she'd probably do something unpleasant. 'God, this woman will drive me insane.'

He leaned his back and looked at the ceiling as he thought up of some kind of apology. She'd probably smack him in the head if she knew about what he was doing in Washington.

A sigh escaped him again, "Syd's on her way home?"

"Yup, she just finished debrief." Nadia answered.

Jack groaned slightly and pulled himself up, "I'm going to change. Whose turn is it to make dinner?" he asked Sofya.

"Nate." His youngest daughter said, still not looking up from the laptop. He took his bags and his coat while he observed Sofya, before sluggishly walking to the stairs. He hoped that no one from APO (or anyone from the CIA) would call them during dinner. It might make Irina even more irritated at him.

'She hasn't left the county in six months, Jack. You should have known that she's bored.' He thought as he went up the steps. She hadn't said a word about it, but he knew Irina didn't like being cooped in one place in long durations, especially when she didn't have a lot of things to do.

He headed straight to the end of the hallway and walked inside the master's bedroom. He tossed his briefcase on the bed before heading to the walk-in closet. Everything in the room was orderly, but as he tossed his clothes on the floor, he thought that sometimes they also needed a little mess.

Jack was throwing his clothes in the hamper when he heard the sound of the SUV pulling up the driveway. A glance at the clock told him that it was a quarter past 5. He quickly finished his task and strolled out of the bedroom.

"Fix your mess, Iya." Irina's voice was audible from where he was stood. Jack quietly went down the staircase. He could also hear activity inside the kitchen. Nathan must be inside, trying to stay away from the trouble brewing.

"After I pass my paper, Mom." Sofya's back suddenly came to view, "May I borrow a car? The bus stop's five minutes away."

"You still have forty minutes, _sweetheart_. Take the bus."

Jack reached the bottom of the steps but didn't make any move to show himself to anyone. The six-foot cabinet hid him from sight.

"Moooommm!" His daughter whined. Jack noticed the change in Sofya from a year ago. She's friendlier, a bit more talkative and a bit more optimistic. She also smiled more often—something they (including Nathan) had in common. One year in a different environment made them change a small part in their personalities.

"Then fix your mess, Iya." His wife said, "And I'll drive you to school myself."

He took a peek and saw Sofya grumbling and picking up the pieces of paper scattered around the floor. She then started to stack the thick History books under the coffee table.

"I think I can manage driving to UCLA on my own," Sofya mumbled as she placed her laptop inside her bag, "And besides, you've been pissed at Dad for the past three days and now that he's here…"

"Your father's here?"

Jack sighed and stepped out from behind the cabinet.

"Yeah, didn't you see his car?" Sofya asked and looked at Nadia, "But if you're afraid that I'd be caught over speeding again, I guess Nadia can come with me." She then looked back at her mother. She was staring at Jack with this… feral glint in her eyes. _Uh-oh_.

"I'm done; we're going to leave now… see you later for dinner." She quickly said and glanced at her sister, who has started her way out of the living room. Sofya then ran towards the front door.

Neither of them uttered a word. Irina waited for the sound of the car fade in the distance before she tore her eyes away from the man who stood in front of her.

"Irina-"

"How was Washington?" she asked and looked out the French doors. The sun had started to set, "I guess it was pretty important since you forgot to inform me that you weren't coming home." She said as she crossed her arms and stared at Jack once again.

"Look, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you that I wasn't going home-"

"Did you know that I thought something bad happened to you? You weren't even answering my calls; your own children didn't know where you were…" her voice was very calm but her eyes were blazing with fury, "I have to learn it from Director Chase through Agent Dixon that you were in Washington. And did you know what time that was?!"

He kept his exasperation from showing. He really did make her angry. "What time did you find out?" he asked.

"Oh, just around 9 in the morning, the following day." She answered in a saccharine tone and then angled her head to ask, "What will you do if I suddenly don't come home and you don't know where I've gone? You do know that, that situation is starting to get more and more plausible every day."

The expression on Jack's face fell and he began to feel like he was the most idiotic man in the world. He made her worry. If the situation was reversed, he would be angry too.

"I'm sorry I made you worry." He took a few steps towards her, "You have every right to be angry. I should have told you that I was going to Washington-"

"Jack, if you come into my arm's reach, I **will** punch you." Irina warned.

He stopped walking. He then ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, "Mckenas Cole and Olivia Reed are in CIA custody. They wanted me to oversee the transfer to FBI custody, so I went to Washington."

"And why did they want you, of all people, to oversee the transfer?" she asked in a slightly derisive tone.

"Because I want to retire in six months. I'm tying up some loose ends."

The look she gave him told Jack that she was either confused on how that task would tie up loose ends or she didn't believe him. Knowing Irina, it would probably be the latter.

"I'm really, really sorry, Irina." He said once again, "It won't happen again."

She stared at him. She masked any expression on her face, making it hard for him to guess what she would do next.

The front door suddenly opened.

"Hey, guys." A chirpy voice greeted.

It was Sydney.

"I think I'll help Nate in the kitchen." Irina said and began to walk past him. She gave Sydney a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the living room.

"Hey, dad." His eldest daughter greeted as she gave him a big smile. Noticing the resigned expression on his face, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." he answered and sank on the sofa, "Your mother's just angry at me."

Sydney then sat beside him, "Why is she angry at you?" she was in Brussels for the past three days and she just arrived a few hours ago.

"For being forgetful."

"Oh." Was the only thing that she could say. Her father's starting to look dejected, "She'd probably forgive you later… or next week… probably…"

Jack just shrugged his shoulders.

_Probably_.

-x-x-x-

(That night)

"I called the flower shop, just like you asked. They'll be delivering the four dozen roses tomorrow, at ten." Nathan kept his tone low as he looked at Jack. They were in the hallway, a few feet away from the master's bedroom, "You know it's not going to work if she's still angry at you tomorrow."

"I know." He replied, "How much…?"

His son gave him a small grin, "Don't worry about it. We don't like mama angry too." He said and made a face, "No one likes to live with an angry Irina Derevko."

Jack smiled back at him, "I'm sure no one wants to be in my position right now."

Nathan laughed out loud. Irina was giving him the silent treatment all throughout dinner. His twin sister seemed pretty amused with what was going on between their parents. They haven't actually observed a full-blown your-father/mother-is-furious-at-me domestic situation. It might be fun for them (the children), since this was not going to include any guns or knives.

"Uh, I better…"

His son grinned like a loon, "Yeah, you better go." He said, "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, Nate." He responded and turned to go inside the bedroom. He closed the door and looked at Irina.

She was leaning on the headboard and was reading a book. She didn't look up when he entered and continued reading. However, he could feel her eyes following his every move.

He went to the bathroom to get ready for sleeping. After a few minutes, he was finished with brushing his teeth and had washed his face and changed his clothes. He then walked out of the bathroom but stopped by the doorway. She still didn't look at him.

"Are you still angry at me?" he asked after a while and leaned on the wooden frame.

This time, she looked up from the book "Why do you ask?" she asked and glanced at his direction.

"So that I'll know if you'll kill me in my sleep tonight." He answered light-heartedly.

Irina gave him an unlady-like snort. "I'm not going to kill you when you're asleep. That would be too boring."

He slowly approached the bed. She didn't break her gaze.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" He stopped at the foot of the queen-sized bed, "You know, about leaving?"

"Do you really think I'll do it?" she snapped the book shut and placed it on the side table. She smoothed the blanket and looked at him expectantly.

"I don't know. I don't want you to do it because…" he trailed off and sighed. Why was he still awkward with this? "I know you're bored and I know how you hate bored and normal at the same time. I also know that I sometimes act like I'm still in the office when I'm home. I don't know how I can make up for them because if I am in your situation, I'll be furious at me too."

Irina didn't say anything and waited for him to continue.

"I'm truly fixing my retirement from the Agency. And I'm really, really sorry. If it's any consolation, I… I really missed you when I was in Washington."

"You think I'll be swayed with that, Jack Bristow?" she asked and raised a brow.

He gave her a smile, "No, not really."

She tilted her head to the side, "Well, I could accept your apology if you-" a smile appeared on her face, "-stay for lunch tomorrow." She said.

"I'm not going to go anywhere tomorrow." He replied, relieved. He started to go towards his side of the bed when she suddenly said.

"Good, because Iya's friends are coming for lunch."

His brows furrowed, "Which friends are we talking about?"

"Her former roommates in San Francisco." Irina answered and smiled wickedly, "I heard they all had a crush on you."

Jack could barely keep his groan. Not those five girls! "Irina-"

"Fine." She said and shrugged, "I knew you'd back out."

Sometimes, he wondered if blackmailing was second nature to Irina. He shook his head and rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, "Okay, I'll stay for lunch."

Her eyes sparkled and she laughed.

"You've been planning this since dinner, have you?" he asked with suspicion.

"Of course." She replied, "I knew you'd grovel if I gave you the silent treatment. And Sofya requested that you stay for lunch. I told her I'll take care of it."

He frowned, but Irina just smiled at him, "Don't worry, I won't let them bite you." She stretched out her hand and softly said, "Come to bed."

Jack took her hand and she pulled him towards her. She then tilted her head and gave him a light kiss on the lips.

When they were comfortably under the blankets, Irina leaned on his shoulder and placed her left hand on his chest. She was protective, possessive and loving at the same time. It was something reassuring to him and he really missed it when he was away from home.

He wrapped his right arm around her waist, "So, where will you go if ever you do leave me?"

"I'm not going to leave you." She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. "As cheesy as this might sound, I'm happy when you're here with me."

Jack smiled to himself. His fear of Irina leaving without warning was dissipating.

He started to stroke her back. At least now, he and Irina are done with the lies.

They're on to the next chapter of their lives. Hopefully, it would be a peaceful sailing.

-x-x-x-

80/80

-xx-**fin**-xx-

**A/N**:

Thank you to all who have read the fanfic from start to finish. Though, you don't review as often as I might have wanted (especially since I post in bursts...), thank you. I really loved writing this story, writing for Alias. I'm currently making an outline for a new fic (for Alias, still), but I think its too ambitious. Heh.

Thank you once again.

Love lots,

**Gabe**


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